Now the bells around the Westertoren in Amsterdam can still be heard, but that will soon change. In the coming year and a half, the ‘Pearl of the Jordaan’ will be under construction for a major makeover. The work is expected to last until mid-2024.
Among other things, the bells, which weigh up to 2,000 kilograms, must be removed from the tower because the frame in which they hang has rusted. And that will be quite a challenge. “Because of the weak quays, we are no longer allowed to install a crane to lift such a clock. So we will use an internal system, via the scaffolding, to hoist all the clocks down,” says project leader Karel van der Hart.
The masonry, leadwork and natural stone of the ‘Pearl of the Jordaan’ will also be restored. And that turns out to be much needed, because in some places the masonry of the tower is starting to crumble because the salt contained in the bricks is coming out.
Van der Hart: “We can clearly see here with these masonry stones what happens when desalting starts. The salt wants to escape and then the baking skin pulls off, causing the stone to pulverize completely. And we are going to try to stop that. Where it’s worst, like here, we’re going to try to lose the stone.”
Furthermore, the tower will be made more sustainable with LED lighting and everything will be given a fresh lick of paint, such as the coat of arms of Amsterdam and the blue crown that sits under the weather vane. And for those wondering: the dark color of the natural stone is not made lighter.
“That is not possible because this is a natural patination layer that develops on the natural stone over the years and we will not clean it or blast it so that it appears white again, because then nature will have to form a new black protective layer.”
The adjacent Westerkerk will remain open during maintenance.