The 'Old' Church was founded as St. Bartholomew's Church in the year 1246, on the site of previous churches. The tower with its 75 metre high brick tower leans about two meters from the vertical.
It was added between 1325-50, and dominated the townscape for a century and a half until it was surpassed in height by the 'New' Church. It is possible that the course of the adjacent canal had to be shifted slightly to make room for the tower, leaving an unstable foundation that caused the tower to tilt. During one renovation, the tower turrets were rebuilt in a more vertical alignment than the leaning body below, giving the tower its slightly kinked appearance.