The Utrecht Dom Tower · The Night the Wind Broke the Church

The Dom Tower in Utrecht stands more than a hundred metres tall, the highest church tower in the Netherlands. It was once joined to the church itself; in 1674 a storm blew down the whole middle section, and a square has stood between tower and church ever since.

Stone from the ruin was later used to pave roads and build walls, and the church was never joined back to the tower.

The bells still ring every day. People in the city call the open space the “Dom Square”, and rarely mention that it was once a broken nave.

Historical Mysteries / Utrecht · Netherlands / 1321