Great luck for pedestrians at the Jakobikirche in Lübeck: no one was injured on Tuesday when two pointers of the tower clock crashed. The 40-pound clock hands had broken loose and crashed into the church forecourt, police said. "One may not even imagine what could have happened," said Pastor Lutz Jedeck the "Lübeck News." Vehicles parked in the church grounds have not been damaged either.
It is unknown why the pointers on the north side of the tower fell from a height of about 80 meters. "It is quite incomprehensible that something like this happens with a watch that has lasted for centuries," said Jedeck.
Police Directorate Lübeck
The tower of the Jakobikirche without pointer
The Jakobikirche, which dates back to the Middle Ages, is one of the five old churches in Lübeck. Its tower is part of the famous city silhouette with the seven towers.
That clock hands fall from tower clocks is rare, but not unique: as early as October 2016, a minute hand from the St. Catherine's Church in Hamburg had dropped from 40 meters into the depths. About eight months later, the pointer had been replaced. According to "Lübecker Nachrichten" it can take months in Lübeck to replace the pointer.