Leaning Tower

The mysterious Leaning Tower of Toruń is the very example of medieval defensive construction and one of many towers built in the city walls. The reason for its fame - 146-centimeter deviation from the vertical at the height of 15m - was probably caused by land subsidence. Built in the 14th century, today, the tower together with adjacent defensive walls and reconstructed part of the wooden porch is a very popular tourist attraction. The building serves as the headquarters of the Toruń Cultural Agenda and is opened for visits.

The Leaning Tower, as every building of that type, is shrouded in many legends. In the past, its deviation from the vertical was considered divine punishment for blasphemous discoveries of Nicolaus Copernicus. The other legend says that the Leaning Tower was built in order to show the deviation from the righteousness of one of the Teutonic knights who, against monastic vows, fell in love with a daughter of a wealthy merchant. Nowadays, the construction encourages to undergo the trial of righteousness in which those who committed transgressions worse than the aforementioned knight will not maintain balance while pressing their back against the tower's wall.

In the 18th, the tower served as a prison, and later, as residence, office, and restaurant.