Montelbaanstoren

Montelbaanstoren rises beside the Oudeschans canal in Amsterdam, where a brick tower once guarded the harbour-facing edge of the city. Built in 1516, it formed part of Amsterdam’s defensive walls. Lastage lay outside the main walls and held shipyards, ropewalks, and maritime businesses. That working waterfront shaped the tower’s first purpose: watching the water after attacks exposed the city’s vulnerability.

In 1606, Hendrick de Keyser designed its decorative upper section, clock, and wooden Renaissance spire. The rebuilt tower reached a height of 48 metres. Lead covers the spire, whose open sections rise above a balustrade. Residents requested the clock and bells, but irregular ringing earned the tower the nickname Malle Jaap.

After defence lost importance, the structure became a watchhouse, warehouse, and water-management office. In 1610, extra weight from the spire made it lean. Poles, ropes, and a cable fixed to the spire helped straighten it. It remains a national monument and one of Amsterdam’s last surviving pieces of medieval fortification.