Fire lookout tower, Baroque fire lookout tower in Szécsény, Hungary.

The Fire lookout tower in Szécsény is a baroque tower built in 1893, standing alone at a crossroads in the town centre. It leans noticeably to the north, a tilt of a few millimetres per year. Its lower two rooms are vaulted, and a tall broken-line helmet replaced the earlier baroque onion dome.

A wooden bell tower was built here in 1718 to mark the end of a plague epidemic; it was replaced by a stone tower two years later. In 1893 the structure was converted into a two-storey tower for the fire watch, and in 1929 a third storey and its present tin-covered helmet were added. The sources record no World War I plaque on the facade.

The tower stands alone at a busy crossroads in the inner town. Its name comes from its role in fire watching, and since 2004 it has housed an exhibition on the history of firefighting. Earlier the interior served as a clockmaker's workshop and later as a radio amateur station.

The tower stands alone at a major crossroads in the inner town, so it is reached on foot from the surrounding streets. It leans noticeably to the north, a movement still measurable at a few millimetres a year. The tower is closed for renovation, so check before planning a visit.

The tower leans north by a few millimetres a year, a movement felt to this day. Many locals blamed a World War II bomb that exploded 80 metres away, but research points instead to the slow sliding of a clay layer beneath the ground.