Toren van Goedereede 1.89

The Toren van Goedereede is a gray square brick tower in Goedereede, 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.Church towerThe 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, 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.LighthouseAlthough 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 came into use.