The leaning tower of the Reformed Church in the village of Acquoy is the village’s most striking building. It is also the building for which the village is best known. The church’s tower has been crooked ever since its construction in the 15th century, and is often referred to as the region´s leaning tower of Pisa.
The river Linge
The village of Acquoy stretches along the dike on a bend in the river Linge and is one of the river´s most beautiful villages. It has been declared a protected monument and was once a barony belonging to the House of Orange. To this day, ‘Van Acquoy’ is a title held by the former Dutch queen, Princess Beatrix. You’ll find the village on a u-shaped branch of the river Linge that has long dried up. This branch is nicknamed the ´Dead Linge’.
The church tower
The brick tower belonging to what was originally St. Catherine´s Church, dates back to the second half of the 15th century and is built in late-Gothic style. The construction was plagued by flooding from the river Linge flooding that regularly washed away the soil from underneath the tower. It is clear to see where the builders tried to correct this problem half way up, which only caused it to lean to one side. In the 18th century, a third layer was demolished to prevent the tower from toppling over all-together. The rest of St. Catherine´s Church was also demolished after it had been badly damaged by a hurricane in 1674. It was replaced by the current Reformed Church in 1844.
The Betuwe´s Leaning Tower of Pisa
The current tower is 17.5 metres high and still consists of two sections. The top of the tower is tilted 115 cm off-centre. Its angle is in fact similar to that of its famous Italian counterpart, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Remarkably, there are only 19 graves in the tiny churchyard, and one belongs to a Mrs C. Pisa. Cornelia Pisa was married to the former Reformed clergyman, Nicolaas Hendrik Kuipéri. Cornelia’s name and the tower’s crooked appearance have contributed to the tower´s nickname as the Betuwe region’s Leaning Tower of Pisa.
