Investigation of Dom Tower Minute Hand Completed

02-13-2026

Measures and investigation

The Dom was recently restored; the clock hands were remounted on the tower in May 2024 after being repainted and gilded at another location. After it was discovered in January that one of the minute hands had come loose, the municipality immediately took measures. Part of the Domplein around the tower was cordoned off as a precaution. The company Eijsbouts - normally responsible only for clock maintenance - secured the clock hand on the west side and also checked the fastening of the other hands. 

The hands should be secured with a fastening nut and a locking bolt. This fastening method is widely used and considered reliable. During inspection, it was found that the hands on the north and south faces of the tower had more play than desirable. The locking bolt was also missing there. The nut of each hand was immediately drilled through to apply a new locking mechanism. The Domplein was then reopened.

Subsequently, an investigation was started. Specialists from Eijsbouts, Monumentenwacht, and the municipality have been involved in recent weeks. The municipality is also in talks with bell founder Laudy, the contractor who mounted the hands on the tower in May 2024. 

Unfortunately, the investigation results do not provide clarity on the cause of the hand detachment. The fastening nut and locking bolt of the western minute hand were not found after the fall. These are small parts of a few centimeters. The fastening nuts of the other hands were immediately drilled through after the incident to re-secure them. This means there is no reliable evidence to determine if the hands were initially mounted correctly. At the restoration delivery in 2024, the clock was inspected, but no abnormalities were found. As usual in such inspections, the fastening was not examined in detail. 

The municipality is very shocked by the incident and regrets that the exact cause remains unclear. Dennis de Vries, alderman for Real Estate: “That is of course very unsatisfactory. We just renovated the Dom; it is basically inexplicable that the hand fell down. Fortunately, the clock faces hang above the walkway where no public access is allowed, and no one was injured. For us, the most important thing now is to ensure this never happens again. With the work now done on the clock faces and the extra inspections we will carry out, that will certainly succeed.”

Repair

Although the other hands were immediately re-secured after the incident, the municipality is taking additional precautionary measures. The other hands have now been fixed with extra fastening pins. Inspections of the fastening will also take place in the coming period.

The minute hand of the western clock face was damaged by the fall and needs to be repaired. Only a few parties in the Netherlands can do this; the municipality is currently in talks with one party to repair the hand. The hand will be reconstructed according to the situation before the fall; like the other minute hands, it weighs about 70 kilos and is gilded with gold. It is not yet clear how long the repair will take. Until then, this clock will remain out of service. The time on the other three sides of the tower is still visible.