Pater Vinck tower

In the heart of the leafy Faliezusterpark stands the Pater Vinck Tower, one of the two remaining watchtowers of Maastricht’s second medieval city wall. The round tower is a reminder of the time when the city was protected by an imposing defensive wall and today stands as one of the most recognisable reminders of the medieval fortified city.

A tower with a defensive function
The Pater Vinck Tower was built around 1380 as part of the second city wall. Together with the city wall, the tower guarded the southern side of Maastricht. Over the centuries, the structure fell into disrepair, until it was restored at the start of the twentieth century. Today, the tower, together with the surrounding city wall, stands as a tangible reminder of medieval Maastricht.

Why is the tower called the Pater Vinck Tower?
The tower is named after the Franciscan friar Servatius Vinck, who in 1638 was accused of involvement in a plot to return Maastricht to Spanish control during the Eighty Years’ War. According to tradition, he was imprisoned in this tower before being executed. Whether this was actually the case has never been proven, but his name has remained forever associated with the tower. In front of the tower stands a distinctive weeping willow, known to many Maastricht residents as the ‘bäöm vaan Päöter Vinck’ (Father Vinck’s tree).

Fun fact
For centuries, this tower was not known as the Pater Vinck Tower at all. As it stood right next to the Faliezuster Convent, the people of Maastricht used to call it the ‘tower behind the Feil Sisters’ or ‘tower by the Swesteren’.