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The Dom Tower of Utrecht is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands, at 112 metres in height.
The tower was part of the medieval cathedral of Utrecht and was built between 1321 and 1382. The building was hastily completed due to lack of money and so lacked the flying buttresses to support its walls. In 1674 a tornado destroyed a large part of the middle section of Dom Church, but the tower was spared. The remaining section of the church and tower were never reconnected, and a street and square now separate the two structures. In the summer of 2004, however, a mock nave was constructed out of scaffolding to commemmerate the missing link.
The Dom tower houses a large peal of ringing bells, second in Europe only to those in Cologne. The tower also houses a famous carillon with bells dating back to the seventeenth century, made by the Hemony brothers.
The Dom tower can also be climbed (by means of guided tour) by anyone wishing to ascend the 700+ stairs to the top. The office is located in the sqare.
There is an unwritten law in Utrecht's politics that no buildings should be constructed that exceed the Dom Tower in height. Recently however, the plans for a skyscraper of more than 200 metres in height are challenging this law.
External links
"Dom Tower of Utrecht"