Pelsertoren

Pelsertoren rises in Zwolle as a medieval wall tower, built between 1475 and 1500 for the city’s Hanseatic fortifications. The round tower once stood beside the Nije Graven moat, between the Koormakerstoren and the Diezerpoort, with twenty-two other towers protecting the city.

Zwolle’s expansion gradually ended the wall’s military role, and warehouses and workshops filled the area around Thorbeckegracht. Urban renewal in the 1960s uncovered surviving fortifications, leading to preservation and partial reconstruction. During restoration in the 1980s, a sloping roof gave way to battlements, arrow slits, and a small turret based on historic drawings by architects Verlaan and Nijhof.

Today, four suites of about 50 square metres occupy the tower as a bed and breakfast, while a rooftop terrace looks across Zwolle. Thick round walls, stone foundations, narrow stairs, modern art, and comfortable beds bring medieval masonry together with present-day use. The nearby seventeenth-century Pelserpoortje shares national-monument protection, and the tower sometimes hosts weddings.