A German church steeple has knocked the leaning tower of Pisa from
the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most lopsided building.
The tilting tower in the German village of Suurhusen applied in June for
the title and has now officially beaten the famous landmark in Pisa.

Guinness Book of Records confirmed the award after officials measured it
leaning at a 5.19 degree angle compared to only 3.97 degree angle at
which the tower of Pisa leans.

Olaf Kuchenbecker of the Guinness World Records office in Hamburg said:
"It is a world record."

The church was built in middle of the 13th century but a 90ft tower was
added in 1450. The tower was built on wooden foundations and the
combination of the oak wood foundations and wet soil has caused the
tower to slowly lean to one side over the years.

Several attempts to stop the tower from leaning any further have been
made since 1982, and it was eventually stabilised in 1996. The church is
still in use and also offers guided tours but church officials are
appealing for donations to help maintain the building.

The church inside...

Suurhusen

Suurhusen, north of Emden in East Frisia and in former times also
called Zuiderhusen (Süderhusen) was named in part, probably due to
close proximity to Osterhusen and Westerhusen. Suurhusen is mentioned
in documents from 1255.
A stone with the year 1004 and ceramic objects found in the
old church tower point to the fact that the village is much older.
Suurhusen currently has about 1200 inhabitants and is administered
by the municipality of Hinte.