Utrecht's Dom tower once again visible after 5-year renovation

The medieval structure is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands

The Domtoren, Utrecht’s tall medieval tower and symbol of the city, has been under renovation for the past five years and this is now complete. The renovation affected only the exterior of the tower, and it was the third restoration project in the history of the building.

The end of the works means that the Gothic tower, which is the tallest belfry in the Netherlands, is once again fully visible in its glory for residents and visitors to the city. Restoring the brilliance of the tower’s exterior involved the replacement of 10,000 sandstone bricks, which were replaced with new ones.

In the spirit of circularity and waste reduction, the older bricks were used in private homes and other buildings. Some are still on sale at a local garden centre to raise money for a new lighting system.

The total cost of the long renovation project of the Dom Tower was 40 million euros.

The most prominent symbol of Utrecht

The Dom Tower has this name because it was originally constructed as part of Utrecht’s St. Martin’s Cathedral. Both of these structures were built in the 14^th century, between 1321 and 1382, however, the two structures ended up having different fates.

On 1 August 1674, a tornado destroyed part of the cathedral but left the tower untouched, the two buildings have stayed separated since then.

However, as time passed, hard times befell the tower as well. A storm in 1836 damaged the top floor of the Domtoren and authorities considered demolishing the structure for a time before turning to renovation instead. That first restoration project also lasted five years.

Then, an even more comprehensive renovation was undertaken in 1901. That one lasted for 31 years and ended up increasing the height of the structure by more than 3 metres to reach the current 112.32 m.