The bridge (Gifhorn)

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The bell palace of the cultural institute Die Brücke

The bridge is a cultural institute founded in Gifhorn in Lower Saxony in 1993 , in which Russian artisans are to be trained practically. The sponsor-financed institution built the Bell Palace as an extensive building complex in the old Russian architectural style from 1996 . Due to a long construction period and lack of finance, it was only put into operation in 2013. The institute was initiated by the director of the neighboring Gifhorn Mill Museum .

Emergence

The cultural institute is run by the non-profit association European Institute for the Promotion of Russian and International Crafts. It was initiated in 1993 by Horst Wrobel , the director of the neighboring mill museum. A start-up failed for a long time due to a lack of funds because, among other things, no funds were made available by the state.

Building

In September 1996 Mikhail Gorbachev laid the foundation stone of the building complex and took over the patronage. The building with an inner courtyard is arranged in a square and has three floors. Its towers, domes and the surrounding gallery with carvings and decorations are in the traditions of Russian wooden architecture. The building is modeled on the type of an Orthodox monastery. The 50 golden domes on the building represent 50 years of peace in Germany. In the center of the system is a large building hall with meter-high arched windows, which is designed as a bell foundry hall . On the roof above is a replica of the heaviest bell in the world, the tsar's bell from 1730. The original is now on the Moscow Kremlin . Above the bell towers in height of 20 meters, the larger than life sculpture of the Holy St. Joseph , the patron saint of craftsmen.

The building complex was named "Bell Palace" in November 2007.

use

On November 9, 2007, the cultural institute was officially opened 11 years after construction began. Following the opening, the Liberty Bell hung next to the building was inaugurated, intended to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In the following period, exhibitions by international artists are initially planned as building use.

Originally it was planned that after the cultural institute went into operation, 40 talented people from Russia should be trained as artisans every year. These plans were delayed due to the long construction time of the Bell Palace and the uncertain situation of the facility for years. Originally, the craftsmen to be trained here were to be instructed in the fields of blacksmithing, bell foundry, art printing, altar building, mosaic making and icon painting. During the training, members of different peoples should get to know each other through joint artistic work. In this way a bridge should be built between the peoples of Europe. After spending a year in Gifhorn, the artisans were supposed to return to Russia and set up businesses there.

Since the start of operations on May 8, 2013, the Glockenpalast has been operating as the European Artisan Institute , in which artists from Eastern Europe can work in eight studios. Admission is charged for visitors who want to tour the building or watch the artists at work. In 2019 it became known that the building was for sale for 4.8 million euros.

Web links

Commons : Glockenpalast (Gifhorn)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Aller-Zeitung, Gifhorn, November 10, 2007.
  2. ↑ Sebastian Wamsiedler: Bell founders wanted in Gifhorn. In: wamsiedler.de , September 1, 2013.
  3. ↑ New owner wanted for the Glockenpalast at ndr.de on September 13, 2019

Coordinates: 52 ° 29 ′ 36.4 "  N , 10 ° 33 ′ 21.4"  E