The Toren van Goedereede (; Goederede Tower) is a gray square brick tower in

Goedereede Goedereede () is a little city and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality had a population of about 11,000 in 2010. It consisted of the west part of the island of Goeree-Overflak ...

, Netherlands, high, belonging to the Catharina church. It was built in 1512. From 1552 to 1912 the tower served as a lighthouse, and went through various changes during this period. Today it has been restored and is a museum, housing a

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

Church tower

The original tower was part of a large parish church in the then-prosperous fishing and trading port. Adriaan Florenszoon Boeyens (1459–1523), the future

Pope Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI (; ; ; ), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his death on 14 September 1523. The only Dutch people, Du ...

, was pastor of the church. During a great fire in Goedereede in 1482 the old "Katharina Church" and its tower were destroyed. A new church was erected in 1512 beside a giant new tower, which still stands today. A large bell that sounded the hours was cast in 1519, with the Latin inscription, ''Est mea vox grata, quia sum Maria vocata et Georgius Waghevens Me fecit Anno Domini MCCCCCXVIII'' (My voice is welcome, because I am called Maria and George Waghevens made Me in the year of our Lord 1518.) A second bell was added in 1647.

Lighthouse

Although at first unlit, the tower served as a landmark to help ships navigate. From 1552 the tower served as a lighthouse. The light originally came from an open coal fire. Goederede went into a long decline, losing trade to better-sited ports. There were insufficient funds to maintain the church. In 1706 the dilapidated building was pulled down, but the tower was preserved. In 1823, the spire of the church was removed to improve use of the tower as a lighthouse. On 26 February 1834 a high light with optics was installed. The optics were replaced in 1879. In 1908 the tower was equipped with rotating optics with a light intensity of 180,000 candlepower. In 1912 the lighthouse was extinguished when the West Head Lighthouse in

Ouddorp Ouddorp is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is part of the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee. It is often referred to as ''Ouddorp aan Zee'' (Outdorp on the Sea) to promote itself as a seaside resort, because the village has ...

came into use.

Museum

In 1967 the tower was designated a national monument (''Rijksmonument''). From 1973 to 1978 the tower was restored at a cost of over two million euros, and made into a museum. A

of bells were hung in the tower, which can be played either mechanically or by hand. The carillon of 37 bells was inaugurated on 24 June 1978. In 1999 it was extended with six bass and seven treble bells. Two more bells were added in 2010, providing many more options to the player. In April 2011 the Dutch Carillon Society organized an international competition for carilloneurs, each of whom had twelve minutes to perform. Exterieur koor - Goedereede - 20078886 - RCE.jpg, Exterior, RCE 1973 Zuid-oost zijde - Goedereede - 20078916 - RCE.jpg, South-east side, RCE 1980 Catharinakerk (Goedereede)4.JPG, Catharina church, 2011 Catharinakerk (Goedereede)3.JPG, Catharina church, 2011

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goedereede, Toren van Lighthouses in South Holland Towers completed in the 16th century Toren van Goedereede