Muurtoren Oostenrijk

Description

Muurtoren Oostenrijk is a late 15th-century wall tower located on Jan van Houtkade in southern Leiden. It was part of the city's medieval fortifications, which once included 32 such towers; Oostenrijk is the sole remaining example. The tower is semicircular, with its straight side facing the city. Its approximately two-meter-thick brick walls feature nine embrasures on the land-facing side, two of which are sealed. The city-facing facade displays two diamond-shaped blind niches and a trefoil-shaped niche above, with the Leiden city coat of arms incorporated into the brickwork below. Due to centuries of street level elevation, the original entrance is now subterranean. Since 2015, the tower has been used as an escape room.