Mystery! This black button is on the Oude Kerk for this

Can you press it? And then what happens? There is a kind of push button on the outside of the Oude Kerk in the Dorpsstraat, or so it seems. But what is it? We knock on the door of the church to look for someone who can tell us the answer.

As soon as you walk past the Oude Kerk in the Dorpsstraat, you will see a black button on a gray stone block on the outer wall. Below it hangs a small red sign with a text that is difficult to read from the sidewalk. Volunteer Rob Kroeders knows what it is for.

Soft peat soil

The tower of the Oude Kerk stands on soft peat soil. “Two buttresses were placed in 1959 during a restoration to strengthen the tower. These continue from the street to the third floor: at the height of the roof and the attic of the church,” says Rob.

He continues: “In order to be able to see whether the tower remains upright and does not sag further, a checkpoint has been made in the buttress on the north side. Surveying equipment can be used to check whether the tower remains in place.” The red sign reads: Tower stability checkpoint† And that’s what the so-called button is for that you see on the outside of the tower.