Leaning Tower of Nevyansk - Construction Techniques

Construction Techniques

After having studied the tower, the scientists found out that its architects used some of the most advanced technologies available at that time. The tower's tented roof was the first cast iron cupola in the world, with a metal carcass and metal outer shell. The second time, this technique was applied only some 100 years later, during the reconstruction of the Mainz Cathedral in Germany in 1826, and the third time it was used in the dome of Saint Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, built in 1840s. The very top of the tower is crowned with a metallic lightning rod in the shape of a gilded sphere with spikes. These were built somewhere between 1725 and 1732 and have recently been interpreted as lightning rods (existing 25 years before Benjamin Franklin's scientific explanation of such devices). Also, the archaeologists found that in order to fasten the structural parts of the tower, the workers used the principle of reinforced concrete for the first time in the world, or some 130 years before its first recorded use by a Parisian gardener in 1860. The Nevyansk Tower is literally pierced with deeply grounded metal bars (rebars). Another astonishing thing about the tower is that the metal parts used during the construction do not have a slightest trace of corrosion. Scientists say that the iron composition of these parts is 99.6%. Although commonplace today, the process of manufacture of such high-grade material in the 18th century still remains a mystery.

Following the restoration, the Nevyansk Tower was opened to the public. Guided tours are provided by a local museum and tourist guides from Yekaterinburg.