Petersbell

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Petersglocke - Bell 1 (2018)
Petersbell
Test ring on October 30th, 2018 with a new clapper suspension

The Petersglocke (popularly: Dicker Pitter , in Kölsch : Blanket Pitter ) is bell 1 of the Cologne cathedral bells . It was cast in 1923 by master bell founder Heinrich Ulrich (1876–1924) in Apolda and is hung in the bell cage of the south tower. With a weight of around 24,000 kg (clapper: ≈ 600 kg) and a diameter of 322 cm, until November 2016 it was the largest bell in the world to ring on a straight yoke .
In November 2016, the Austrian bell foundry Grassmayr cast an even heavier bell for the Cathedral of the Redemption of the People in Bucharest. The Petersglocke is still the deepest free-swinging bell in the world.

history

Precursors and prehistory

The forerunner of the Petersglocke was the “ Kaiserglocke ” or “ Gloriosa ” cast in 1875 , which at 27,180 kg was heavier than the Petersglocke. In 1918 - during the First World War - it was melted down again because the bell was used for the production of materials essential to the war effort and its tone did not match the ringing.

The then mayor Konrad Adenauer and Karl Joseph Cardinal Schulte campaigned for Cologne to get a replacement for the imperial bell. In the beginning nobody wanted to pour the new big bell and numerous bell founders from all over Europe refused: the risk seemed too great. The fall of the unsuccessful “Kaiserglocke” was fondly remembered. Finally, on March 31, 1922, following the request of the cathedral's Metropolitan Chapter, the master bell founder Heinrich Ulrich (1876–1924) from Apolda in Thuringia agreed to accept the order.

Casting and Financing

The bell founder Heinrich Ulrich supervised all the preparations himself and called on his most experienced employees to help. The Apoldaer Volkszeitung from 1922 reported on a film that was supposed to capture the work on the bell from start to finish. Ulrich's nephew, Karl Czudnochowsky, took part in the casting.

Since Ulrich's casting furnace could not hold the amount of metal, a new melting furnace had to be built beforehand. As the day of the completion of the work approached, a new calculation was made with the master. The customers were not able to follow the paper currency devaluation during the inflation . On the other hand, the cathedral could not redeem its bell with emergency money. The events of that time made it difficult for the master to calculate the exact costs that had arisen in Apolda and that were to come, and to obtain the necessary money. The metal for the St. Peter's bell cost over a million marks. As a precaution, he asked for an additional $ 5,000. Wealthy people from Cologne donated the necessary amount.

During the preparations for casting, around 30 solid cubic meters of spruce wood had to be burned to ensure the flow of the metal. On the evening of May 5th, 1923, the master pushed out the cone, and the stream of fire flowed from both ovens into the mold, which, determined by the stopwatch, was filled in 9 minutes and 32 seconds. The casting succeeded. Heinrich Ulrich had also achieved the desired sound properties by converting the Erfurt “Gloriosa - Rippe ” to the much larger Petersglocke. The master bell founder did not see the inauguration of his greatest masterpiece - it strained him physically and mentally; he previously died on February 12, 1924 of severe flu.

Transport, reception and elevator

As a result of the occupation of the Ruhr area by French troops, the transfer of the bell was delayed because the clients feared it would be confiscated as reparations. It was installed in the foundry for a year and a half and many visitors from Apolda and the surrounding towns came to see it on Katharinenweg.

In November 1924, the Petersglocke was transported to Cologne by rail. The "Apoldaer Tageblatt" of November 9, 1924 reports on the preparations for this transport. On November 10th Heinrich Ulrich was supposed to have the bell transported from Katharinenweg to the train station on three Benz-Mannheim tractors. A break was planned at 12 noon in order to supply the tractors with water again. On the night of November 11th, the bell at the “Thüringer Hof” was to be turned off and transported to the train station at noon. Loading was scheduled for November 12th and departure on the same day around 1.30 p.m. There is a documentary film about this transport.

After a two-day transport on a special wagon of the Reichsbahn, the bell arrived in Cologne's Rheinauhafen on November 14th . With the help of a ship's crane, she was lifted from the wagon onto a low-loader. The last stretch from the harbor to the cathedral was covered on November 24th. Thousands of people accompanied the decorated bell to the cathedral to the solemn bells of those churches whose parishes the cathedral touched across the streets and were greeted by the cathedral bells. St. Peter's Bell was consecrated on November 30, 1924 in front of around 20,000 people by Archbishop Karl Joseph Cardinal Schulte. Loudspeakers were used for the first time to make his speech intelligible to the crowd. The bell was decorated with green boxwood , red and white roses and wreaths with bows in the papal colors.

Since the 3.20 meter high and 3.22 meter wide bell did not fit through the 1.84 meter wide doors, the central pillar of the main portal with the statue of Mary had to be expanded. The subsequent transport to the belfry at a height of 53 meters took several weeks. The chair had to be reinforced beforehand in order to withstand the strain. The bell should first be heard on Christmas Eve 1924. But a technical error ensured that after a long swing, only three beats sounded. Then the rope of the chime broke and the bell stopped. It was not until October 28, 1925 at 12 noon, ten months later, that it sounded again for the first time in the cathedral city. Pictures, documents and the Ulrich plaque about the casting and transport can still be viewed in the Bell Museum in Apolda.

Damage and repairs in the 1950s

The suspension rotated by 20 °

In 1951 the Petersglocke tore and was only restored in 1956 by the Lachenmeyer company in Nördlingen by autogenous welding of the 110 cm long crack on the brass knuckles . The bell got a lighter clapper (approx. 800 kg). Since then, the bell has been hung up rotated by 20 ° so that the clapper does not hit the repaired area.

After repeated problems with dropouts and bouncing strikes, light barriers were installed in 1984 that switched off the drives when the bell reached a maximum ringing angle that was reasonable for the bell.

Broken bobbin 2011

Petersbell with broken clapper
Bell with a new clapper and new chime motors, a year later. The welded crack from 1951 can be clearly seen.

On January 6, 2011 at 9:35 a.m., the clapper broke when the St. Peter's bell rang before the high mass . It broke at the point where it emerged from the two brackets that supported it, and where its cross-section was weakened by two holes for screws. He fell to the belfry maintenance level, where he smashed two wooden floorboards and outlined a safety railing. The shock caused by the impact of the clapper was registered by the four earthquake measuring stations in the cathedral, which are operated by the Bensberg earthquake station . While the bells on Epiphany 2011 made the cathedral towers sway back and forth by about 0.2 mm, the impact of the clapper generated 2.5 times the amplitude. The crack of the clapper was clearly audible on the cathedral plate. The cause of the break was initially assumed to be material fatigue.

More detailed investigations in the European competence center for bells in the University of Kempten (Allgäu) showed that when this clapper was installed in the 1950s, a cutting torch was improperly tampered with on the hangers in the bell. This had resulted in increased wear on one side, which ultimately led to the breakage of the clapper. An employee of the competence center described the break as a "blessing" for the fat pitter, as otherwise this clapper would have made the bell unusable in a few years due to overuse. The 800 kg clapper could no longer be repaired and was replaced by a new one. In October 2011, was in the clapper forged steel Rosswag from Pfinztal started with the ironwork for the new clapper. The new clapper weighs about 600 kg and is 3.20 m long. It is a donation from the shareholders of the forge and the stainless steel works Boschgotthardshütte from Siegen . On December 2nd, 2011 the new clapper was pulled up into the bell chamber, and the bell rang again for the first time on December 7th.

When the new clapper was installed, the two drive motors were replaced. The new motors, tuned to the lighter clapper, now run at just 500 revolutions per minute instead of 750 previously. This means that they tug less violently on the drive chains when the power is switched on.

Replacement of the clapper suspension in 2017/18

In April 2017 the clapper was dismantled to make a new suspension. The reason was a too hard, uneven stroke. The basis for this problem arose during the casting in 1923, when the hole for the clapper suspension, which should be exactly in the middle of the hood, got a little off-center. As a result, the clapper did not hang exactly in the middle of the bell, which led to an uneven stop and even dropouts. With the new steel construction under the hood, an adjustment option was created to position the clapper exactly despite the slightly offset hole. This error, which according to the Dombauhütte is not related to the incidents in 2011, was discovered during an investigation in 2016 during which a musical fingerprint was taken. A softer touch should protect the material and achieve a better sound. The bell was rung again for the first time on the feast of All Saints' Day , November 1st, 2018.

Data

Musical

All notes in 16th notes. V = representative.

Nominal
(strike)		 incidental
percussive		 undertone Prim third Quint-V Decay duration
(undertone)		 decay
running
c 0 −5 e 0 −2 C −8 c 0 −2 it 0 +3 ges 0 +2 170 seconds floating

Technical

Weight lower
diameter		 Brass knuckles Rib construction suspension
24,000 kg 3220 mm 227 mm heavy Steel yoke,
straight

inscription

[Relief of St. Gereon]
◊ IN ◊ YEAR ◊ 1922 ◊ AFTER ◊ CHRIST ◊ BIRTH ◊◊
◊ 600 ◊ YEARS ◊ AFTER ◊ THE ◊ SANCTUARY ◊ UNDER ◊ THE
◊ GOVERNMENT ◊ OF ◊ POPE ◊ PIUS ◊ XI ◊ OF ◊ ARZ =
= BISHOP ◊ KARL ◊ JOSEPH ◊ CARDINAL ◊ SCHULTE ◊

[
Petrus relief ] ◊ UNDER ◊ THE ◊ OFFICIAL MANAGEMENT ◊ OF ◊ DOMPROPS =
= TES ◊ ARNOLD ◊ MIDDENDORF ◊◊ DES ◊ DOMDECHAN =
= TEN ◊ AND ◊ WIFE BISHOPS ◊ PETER ◊ LAUSBERG ◊
◊ THE ◊ WINKAPITULAR ::

[Relief of St. Ursula]
ARNOLD ◊ STEFFENS ◊◊ JOSEPH ◊ ROMUNDE ◊◊ KARL
:: COHEN ◊◊ JOSEPH ◊ VOGT ◊◊ ADOLF ◊ OTT ◊◊ FRIEDRICH
: GRAF ◊ SPEE ◊◊ OTTO ◊ PASCHEN ◊◊ CHRISTIAN
::: BERRENRATH ◊◊ JOSEPH ◊ STOFFELS ◊◊ WAS

[Relief of Christ]
◊ I ◊ TO ◊ APOLDA ◊ FROM ◊ MASTER ◊ HEINR. ◊ ULRICH ◊
◊ CASTED ◊◊ THE ◊ MEANS ◊ GIVES ◊ THE ◊ GERMAN =
= SCHE REICH ◊◊ THE ◊ PRUSSIAN ◊ STATE ◊ AND ◊:
◊ FATHERLANDS ES Minded ◊ CITIZENS ◊ COLOGNE

[Relief of St. Gereon]
(on the flank)
◊◊ O ◊ KING ◊ OF ◊ GLORY ◊◊
◊ COME ◊ CHRIST ◊ WITH ◊ PEACE ◊◊
(under the image of Christ)
◊ ST ◊ GEREON ◊
◊ PRAY ◊ FOR ◊ US ◊
◊ (crown) ◊ M ◊ (crown) ◊
◊ C ◊ (crown) ◊ B ◊
(under St. Gereon)
◊ ST ◊ URSULA ◊
◊ BITT ◊ FOR ◊ US ◊
◊ (crown) ◊ M ◊ (crown) ◊
◊ C ◊ (crown) ◊ B ◊

[under the relief of St. Ursula]
◊: ST ◊ PETER ◊ AM ◊ I ◊ CALLED ◊: ◊
◊: SCHÜTZE ◊ THE ◊ GERMAN ◊ LAND: ◊
◊ BORN ◊ FROM ◊ GERMAN ◊ LEID ◊◊
† ◊ † ◊ RUF I ◊ TO ◊ UNITY ◊ † ◊ †

(†) and rosettes (here: ◊) serve as word and separator symbols.

The Petersglocke, however, aroused heated debates according to the contemporary report of a Catholic who signed with "Canonicus" (May 17, 1923). It had been forgotten to note on the bell that it was mainly the Catholic community that had donated for the casting.

“Here in Cologne one should have justifiably asked the Catholic residents whether they wanted such a bell with such inscriptions, because the last sentence of the inscription shows that only Cologne citizens who see their fatherland in Prussia contributed. I don't know if others feel the same way, but for me it is not a pleasant feeling when I do my prayer in the cathedral to know that there is an advertisement for Prussia in connection with her. "

Ringing order

Ushering in the solemn festival of the Epiphany. The Peter's bell rings for about nine minutes as a soloist, after which the other bells in the south tower join. On the following day, January 6th, 2011, the clapper was torn from its suspension around 9:40 a.m.
Peter's bell ringing

The Petersbell is only rung on special occasions and on major religious holidays. The election or death of an Archbishop of Cologne or a Pope as well as the Archbishop's investiture count among them. On the evening of March 28, 1936, all of the bells in the cathedral rang a so-called "peace appeal" from Hitler , which Hitler delivered on the occasion of the Reichstag elections in Cologne. Likewise, the Petersglocke above the ruins of the city of Cologne announced the end of World War II in 1945 and the reunification of Germany in 1990 . As a rule, the Peter bell rings for ten minutes as a soloist and the other bells (according to the general ringing order) follow. Not all south tower bells always ring. Only bells 1–6 ring for the solemn feast of the Conception of Mary and only bells 1–3 for Christmas mass on Christmas Eve.

Date / day Time occasion
December 7th 7:30 p.m. Ringing in the Feast of the Conception of Mary
December 8th 09:35 Solemnity of the Conception of Mary (Sundays)
18:05 Solemnity of the Conception (on weekdays)
24th of December 19:15 Ringing in the solemn feast of the birth of the Lord on Christmas Eve
23:05 Christmas mass on Christmas Eve (with Pretiosa and Speciosa )
25 December 09:35 Solemnity of the birth of the Lord
January 1st 00:00 Ringing in the new calendar year (ringing the bell)
January 5th 7:30 p.m. Ushering in the solemn feast of the apparition of the Lord
6th January 09:35 Solemnity of the Epiphany
Holy Saturday ≈23:15 Ostergloria on Easter vigil (on the bell)
Easter Sunday 09:35 Solemnity of the Lord's Resurrection
Ascension eve 7:30 p.m. Ringing in the feast of Ascension
Ascension of Christ 09:35 Solemnity of Ascension Day
Pentecost eve 7:30 p.m. Ring in the solemn festival of Pentecost
Pentecost Sunday 09:35 Solemnity Pentecost
Corpus Christi eve 7:30 p.m. Ringing in the feast of Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi 09:35 Solemnity Corpus Christi
Procession and
entry of the Holy of Holies		 Solemnity of Corpus Christi (ringed as a soloist)
June 28th 7:30 p.m. Ringing in the high and patronage festival of St. Peter and Paul
June 29th 09:35 High or patronage festival St. Peter and Paul (Sundays)
18:05 High or patronage festival St. Peter and Paul (weekdays)
October 31 7:30 p.m. Ringing in the feast of All Saints' Day
November 1st 09:35 Solemnity of All Saints
At the death of the Pope, the Archbishop 30 minutes
Daily until the funeral of the Pope, the Archbishop 15 minutes

Trivia

Replica in front of a car dealership in Apolda

A full-size replica made of plastic is in Apolda , the city where Dicken Pitter was born , in front of a car dealership on Erfurter Straße.

See also

Portal: Cologne Cathedral  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the subject of Cologne Cathedral

List of bells in Germany

literature

  • Ernst Fauer: The new suffering of the "blanket pitter" . In: Apoldaer Geschichtsverein e. V. (Hrsg.): Apoldaer Heimat - Contributions to the nature and local history of the city of Apolda and its surroundings . Issue 29. Apolda 2011, p. 37-40 .
  • Bernd Krükel: The St. Peters bell in Cologne Cathedral - the suffering of the "ceiling pitter" . In: Apoldaer Geschichtsverein e. V. (Hrsg.): Apoldaer Heimat - Contributions to the nature and local history of the city of Apolda and its surroundings . Issue 20. Apolda 2002, p. 27-30 .
  • Ernst Fauer: Heinrich Ulrich and his bell foundry on Katharinenweg . In: Apoldaer Geschichtsverein e. V. (Hrsg.): Apoldaer Heimat - Contributions to the nature and local history of the city of Apolda and its surroundings . Issue 20. Apolda 2002, p. 20-26 .
  • Margarete Schilling : The Cologne Cathedral Bell (1923) . In: Art, ore and sound - the works of the bell foundry families Ulrich and Schilling from the 17th century to the present . Henschel, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-362-00617-5 , pp. 81-83 .
  • Gerhard Hoffs: Bell music of Catholic churches in Cologne. Bachem, Cologne 1985, DNB 860267911 , pp. 15, 22 and 23.
  • Martin Seidler: The Cologne cathedral bells. = The Bells of the Cologne Cathedral. 2nd Edition. Verlag Kölner Dom, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-922442-40-4 (documentation CD with extensive booklet).

Web links

Commons : Petersglocke  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Record fallen - the world's largest free-swinging bell will no longer be in Cologne in the future , online at www.wamsiedler.de.Retrieved on July 31, 2017.
  2. ↑ Relay baton / Kölner Petersglocke referred to second place , online at www.domradio.de. Accessed on November 28, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b c d Care for the ceiling pitter ; domradio.de, January 6, 2011.
  4. ↑ Ernst Fauer: Heinrich Ulrich and his bell foundry on Katharinenweg . In: Apoldaer Geschichtsverein e. V. (Hrsg.): Apoldaer Heimat - Contributions to the nature and local history of the city of Apolda and its surroundings . Issue 20. Apolda 2002, p. 20-26 . , Page 25 - there the weight of the bell is given as 25,000 kilograms
  5. ↑ Ernst Fauer: Heinrich Ulrich and his bell foundry on Katharinenweg . In: Apoldaer Geschichtsverein e. V. (Hrsg.): Apoldaer Heimat - Contributions to the nature and local history of the city of Apolda and its surroundings . Issue 20. Apolda 2002, p. 20-26 . , Page 23
  6. ↑ Ingeborg Nitt: Bells - Works of Art and Medicine (Part 2) Die Mute von Köln ( Memento of the original from July 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Info booklet of the Akademie för uns kölsche Sproch Nov. 2005 - April 2006. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www2.koelsch-akademie.de
  7. ↑ koelner-dom.de: stpetersglocke .
  8. ↑ Local time from Cologne The blanket Pitter rings again on YouTube .
  9. ↑ Report on WELT online from January 8, 2011 , accessed on January 12, 2011.
  10. ^ Axel Bojanowski: Seismology: Wankender Dom zu Köln . In: Spiegel Online . January 23, 2012 ( spiegel.de [accessed December 24, 2019]).
  11. ↑ a b Broken clapper of the Petersglocke (exterior shot) on YouTube .
  12. ↑ A clapper for eternity ; WDR TV report here and today , December 7th, 2011 (5:29, 5:56 and from 6:10 min)
  13. ↑ "Die Glockenforscher" - broadcast from the series "IQ Science and Research from Bavaria 2 , broadcast on May 14, 2020. The quoted statement can be heard from minute 22 of the almost 25-minute audio. The broadcast is available at https: / /www.br.de/radio/bayern2/programmkalender/ausstrahlung-2110966.html nachhörbar.
  14. ^ Axel Bojanowski : Seismology: Wankender Dom zu Köln. Spiegel Online , January 23, 2012, accessed January 24, 2012 .
  15. ↑ The end of the clapper ; WDR, January 7, 2011.
  16. ↑ Communication from the Metropolitan Chapter of January 7, 2011, accessed on January 7, 2011.
  17. ↑ Expert opinion on the clapper ; WDR, January 26, 2011.
  18. ↑ Master of the good tone (report on the new production) ; WDR, March 9, 2011.
  19. ↑ Hot iron: The new clapper for the St. Peter's Bell in Cologne Cathedral is forged News article with picture gallery ; domradio.de, October 9, 2011.
  20. ↑ Clapper for St. Peter's Bell in Cologne. Rosswag GmbH, October 13, 2011, accessed on November 1, 2018 .
  21. ↑ St. Peter's Bell rings again , press release by the cathedral builder.
  22. ↑ New clapper for the "blanket pitter" in Cologne Cathedral is attached ; domradio.de, December 2, 2011.
  23. ↑ St. Peter's Bell in Cologne rings again. The "ceiling pitter" sings ; domradio.de, December 7, 2011.
  24. ↑ New sound for the people of Cologne - Dicker Pitter rings again on YouTube .
  25. ↑ Full ringing of the bells of Cologne Cathedral (January 5, 2012) on YouTube . In this video with the ringing on January 5, 2012, after about 4 min. 20 sec. Running time of the video, one hears that the clapper is clearly decreasing and is about to stop.
  26. ↑ The "ceiling pitter" in Cologne Cathedral will soon ring again. Retrieved December 24, 2019 .
  27. ↑ The "Big Pitter" stays silent for months. In: RP Online. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017 .
  28. ↑ Manfred Reinnarth: Dicker Pitter will remain silent for months. In: Kölnische Rundschau. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017 .
  29. ↑ The silence is over. The big pitter in Cologne Cathedral rings again ; domradio.de, October 30, 2018.
  30. ↑ Gerhard Hoffs: Bell music of Catholic churches in Cologne ( PDF; 2.25 MB ( Memento from April 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive )).
  31. ↑ www.koelner-dom.de: Ringing order 'Dicker Pitter'
  32. ^ Andreas Fasel: The Cologne Trumm: - WORLD. Retrieved April 1, 2017 .
  33. ↑ Apoldaer Tageblatt , March 27, 1936.
  34. ^ Introduction to the Conception of Mary (December 7, 2006): Part 1 ; Part 2 .
  35. ^ Initiation to Corpus Christi (June 6, 2007): Part 1 ; Part 2 ; Part 3 .
  36. ↑ ringing in All Saints (October 31, 2006): Part 1 ; Part 2 ; Part 3 .