The lower part of this striking tower was built to strengthen Amsterdam's eastern defences in 1512. Positioned on the old city wall, it gave sentries a good view of suspicious characters on the wharves along Oude Schans. The octagonal base and open wooden steeple were added in 1606 to dampen the bells on the clock after the neighbours complained. Just a few years later the tower began to list under the weight, but residents attached cables and pulled it upright.
The elegant tower has two sets of bellworks, four clock faces and a nautical vane like the one on top of the Oude Kerk.
