Bell foundry Otto

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The Brema in Bremen Cathedral
Chime and chime bells (f 1 and g 1 ) from St. Martini in Bremen
Offer of the bell foundry F. Otto from 1895 to deliver a bell for the parish church of St. Mauritius Kärlich
Invoice from 1914 for the parish church in Kärlich for four bells

The Otto bell foundry , also known as the Hemelingen bell foundry , was founded in 1874 in Hemelingen , now a district of Bremen . The company traded under the name of "Glockengießerei F. Otto Hemelingen" and, with the exception of the war years, cast several thousand bells until the casting operation was closed in 1974.

history

In the Middle Ages, Bremen was a center of bell, grape and brass foundries , which, in addition to bells, also made baptismal fonts , gun barrels and other, smaller objects. A bell and a baptismal font for the Church of St. Michaelis in Lüneburg came from the foundry Olricus around 1300 , the metal foundry Otto made a baptismal font for St. Martini in Bremen and the bell foundry family Klinge cast bells for the Bremen Cathedral around 1430 to 1474 for St. Ansgarii in Bremen and for churches in Jever , Wildeshausen , Brinkum , Lübeck and for the Wasserhorster church in Blockland . In addition, numerous other foundries were active in Bremen.

In 1874 Franz Otto - a shoemaker by profession - founded the Otto bell foundry there at the instigation of his brother Carl, who was a pastor in Hemelingen. Both came from Duderstadt . Contrary to the description in Wüstefeld (1925), Carl Otto did not learn the art of bell casting from the bell founder Lange during his high school and study time in Hildesheim . SA Lange had been dead for almost two years when Carl Otto came to Hildesheim. Carl learned to cast bells from the bell founder JJ Radler in Hildesheim. Carl Otto later self-published the book Theory of Glockentöne - an acoustic monograph, which has, however, been lost. After his appointment as pastor of Hemelingen, he brought his brother Franz to Hemelingen. Contrary to the description in Wüstefeld (1925), Franz Otto only learned bell casting in Hemelingen from 1873/74. After founding the foundry, Karl was responsible for the construction of the bell ribs, Franz for the casting. Carl Otto was a priest and pastor from 1884 to 1910 in the parish of Saint Mauritius in Desingerode. He died in Düsseldorf in 1917.

The oldest Otto bell still in existence is an a 'bell from 1876, which is still hanging in St. Jakobi, Bremen-Neustadt, today. The oldest completely preserved Otto bell from 1884 and 1891 is now hanging in St. Elisabeth, Essen-Frohnhausen. First, bells were cast in a light rib , some of which have been preserved in East Friesland and the five-part chime of St. Georg in Arnstorf (cast 1890/1891). However, in the mid-1890s, the foundry changed its bell ribs . The result was a medium and a heavy rib. In the heavy rib, extremely high quality bells were cast, especially for the archdiocese of Cologne at that time , so u. a. 1898 the five-part bell for St. Josef in Krefeld , whose largest bell - called Fat Anna - weighs 4407 kg. Along with the bells of the Frankfurt Cathedral and the Dresden Kreuzkirche, this bell is one of the most important bells of the 19th century in Germany. This bell formed the prelude to extensive delivery activities for the then Archdiocese of Cologne, where a large number of significant bells were delivered up to the First World War (240 bells), including two bells for the Cologne Cathedral in 1911: the Aveglocke (g 1 ) and the chapter bell (e 1 ).

In 1929 Otto bought the Wroclaw foundry from the bell foundry Geittner and ran the business in the 1930s until shortly before the start of the Second World War.

In 1909 Otto delivered four bells for the newly built church of the Dormition Basilica (Dormitio Beatae Mariae Virginis) in Jerusalem. The bells with the tones c sharp - e - f sharp - g sharp weighed 5.4 tons. Of the four bells from 1909, three (bells I, III and IV) still hang in the tower of the Dormition.

During the First World War, numerous bells had to be delivered to the armaments industry. There were often exceptions for bells from the Otto foundry, as they were exempt from delivery thanks to their sometimes extraordinarily good sound properties.

From 1919 onwards, the foundry made many loud bells again. In 1927 there was a three-part bell for the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Scherpenseel (Heinsberg district), which sounds in the tones c 1 , d 1 and e 1 . Not to be forgotten is the bell of the basilica in Dormagen-Knechtsteden from 1931, the largest bell of which weighs 4021 kg (b 0 ). St. Martin in Krefeld received a three-part Te Deum chime on c sharp 1 in 1934 . In addition, other bells were created in the foundry, for example for the New Mariendom in Hamburg, the Seligenstädter Basilica or the Josefskirche in Offenbach am Main . Experts consider these bells to be valuable; Despite their low historical value, they did not have to be delivered during the Second World War .

Bell production started again in Hemelingen in 1945. In 1951 the largest bell that the foundry had ever produced was created, the bell for Trier Cathedral with a total weight of 24,340 kg; the Christ and Helena bell alone weighs 7970 kg. In 1962 the big bell of the Bremen Cathedral was cast, the approx. 7000 kg heavy Brema , which sounds with the chime g 0 (see introductory picture).

For the St. Martini Church in Bremen, three bell bells were delivered in December 1957. The largest c 1 bell intended to strike the hour with a weight of 2250 kg received the inscription written by Manfred Hausmann : “I want to honor you with every note, give us, oh Lord, peace as a reward. Destroyed on October 5, 1944 - re-cast in Advent 1957 ” . Another sixteen bells followed in 1962 for the carillon . Of the total of 19 bells of different sizes, 17 are included in the carillon, five are also used as chimes. The two largest bells c 1 and d 1 are pure ringing bells. The total weight of all bells should be 9500 kg.

By 1925, 4,223 bells had left the foundry. From 1925 to the closure of the foundry in Hemelingen in 1974 (estimated) another 4,000–5,000 bells were added.

Otto bells have a particularly flat crown, the six crown bars of which are arranged radially. The bell mantle is steep and there are often several bridges on the Wolm .

1953 Karl Otto founded in Saarlouis new bell foundry Otto Saarlouis that by 1960 a total of 535 bells poured. This operation was discontinued in 1960. As before, Otto-Glocken manufactures bells and bell systems and is dedicated to the maintenance and care of bells / systems. The Otto-Glocken company is still based in Bremen.

The catalog raisonnés for Hemelingen and Saarlouis show over 8,640 bells.

The Glockenstrasse in Hemelingen was named after the Otto bell foundry.

The Otto-Buer Glocken-Uhrentechnik company in Neustadt in Holstein is not identical to the Otto-Glocken company. She no longer pours bells, but is mainly active in the manufacture of carillons .

Big bells and chimes (selection)

In addition to the following bells and chimes, which are documented in the catalog raisonnés of the family and company history, sixty Otto chimes from a hundred years are presented in detail in the large Otto bell book.

place church Bell / peal Casting year Total weight in kg Nominal sequence comment
Arnstorf St. George 5-ring bell 1890/1891 05,050 c 1 -d 1 -e 1 -g 1 -a 1
Berlin-Niederschönhausen St. Mary Magdalene 4-ring bell 1927-1929 01,440 high G; g ''
(Ave)		 3 bells were melted down in 1943; the ave bell has been preserved.
Billerbeck St. Ludgerus 5-ring bell 1922-1926 09,350 b 0 -des 1 -es 1 -f 1 -as 1
Bremen St. Petri Cathedral Brema 1962 07.112 g 0
Bremen St. Martini 7 ring bell 1957/62 c 1 -d 1 -f 1 -g 1 -a 1 -c 2 -d 2
Darmstadt St. Elisabeth 4-ring bell 1905 07,889 b 0 -d 1 -f 1 -g 1
Dormagen-Knechtsteden St. Andrew 5-ring bell 1931 10.145 b 0 -des 1 -es 1 -f 1 -ges 1
Duderstadt St. Cyriac 6-ring bell 1923/31 12,370 ~ g 0 –h 1 –es 1 –f 1 –g 1 –a 1 (planned: as 0 –c 1 –es 1 –f 1 –g 1 –as 1 )
Düren St. Joachim 5-ring bell 1897 07,383 h 0 -d 1 -e 1 -fis 1 -g 1
Düsseldorf-Friedrichstadt St. Anthony 5-ring bell 1912 08,437 b 0 -des 1 -es 1 -f 1 -ges 1
Düsseldorf-Oberbilk St. Joseph 5-ring bell 1901 09,923 b 0 -des 1 -es 1 -f 1 -ges 1
Düsseldorf-Pempelfort St. Adolfus 6-ring bell 1913 11,970 a 0 -c 1 -d 1 -e 1 -g 1 -a 1
Erkelenz St. Lambertus Big bell 1914 03,450 b 0
Erkelenz-Golkrath St. Stephen 4-ring bell 1908/51 05.116 d 1 -e 1 -fis 1 -g 1
Erkelenz-Venrath St. Valentine 3-ring bell 1908/58 03,670 d 1 –e 1 –fis 1
Essen Holsterhausen St. Mary's Birth 4-ring bell 1907 07,749 h 0 -d 1 -e 1 -fis 1
Fulda St. Blaise 5-ring bell 1951/66 12,245 a 0 -h 0 -d 1 -e 1 -fis 1
Krefeld St. Anna 5-ring bell 1905/66 08,754 h 0 -d 1 -e 1 -fis 1 -g 1
Krefeld St. Joseph 5-ring bell 1898 11,380 a 0 -c 1 -d 1 -e 1 -f 1
Cologne-Lindenthal St. Stefan 4-ring bell 1922/30 05,350 cis 0 -e 1 -fis 1 -gis 1
Marktheidenfeld St. Laurence 5-ring bell 1951 05,549 des 0 –es 1 –f 1 –as 1 -h 1
Mönchengladbach-Hermges St. Joseph 4-ring bell 1925 06,504 h 0 -d 1 -e 1 -fis 1
Mülheim-Kärlich St. Mauritius 4-ring bell 1951 03,500 es 1 -f 1 -g 1 -b 1
Offenbach St. Joseph 4-ring bell 1931 07,575 h 0 -d 1 -e 1 -g 1
Püttlingen Church of Our Lady 5-ring bell 1962 09,400 a 0 -cis 1 -e 1 -fis 1 -gis 1
Recklinghausen St. Peter Big bell 1948 04,500 as 0
Rimpar St. Peter and Paul 6-ring bell 1886/87 05,100 cis 1 -dis 1 -fis 1 -GIS 1 -ais 1 -h 1 fis 1 2008 cracked and welded
Seligenstadt St. Marcellinus and Peter 5-ring bell 1925/50 08,950 h 0 -d 1 -e 1 -fis 1 -a 1
trier Dom 10-ring bell 1951 07,970 fis 0 -a 0 -h 0 -cis 1 -d 1 -e 1 -fis 1 -a 1 -h 1 -cis 2
Viersen St. Joseph 5-ring bell 1950/51 10,043 b 0 -des 1 -es 1 -f 1 -ges 1
Wilhelmshaven - Bant Banter Church 3-ring bell 1900 Bells were confiscated and melted down for war purposes in 1917.
Würselen St. Sebastian Big bell 1961 04,500 a 0

Chimes

In 1953, the Otto family with their Saarlouis bell foundry Otto cast 25 bells for the carillon in the Saarlouis town hall tower. It is one of the very few carillons that is known to have been cast by Otto.

literature

  • Karl Wüstefeld : The bell foundry F. Otto, Hemelingen near Bremen . Duderstadt 1924.
  • Karl Wüstefeld: A family of bell founders from Duderstadt . In: Unser Eichsfeld , vol. 19 (1924), Duderstadt 1924, pp. 83-88.
  • Gerhard Reinhold: Otto bells. Family and company history of the Otto bell foundry dynasty . Self-published, Essen 2019, ISBN 978-3-00-063109-2 .
  • Gerhard Reinhold: Church bells - Christian world cultural heritage, illustrated using the example of the bell founder Otto, Hemelingen / Bremen . Nijmegen 2019, nbn: nl: ui: 22-2066 / 204770 (Dissertation at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen).

Web links

Commons : Glockengießerei Otto  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gerhard Reinhold: Otto bells. Family and company history of the Otto bell foundry dynasty. Ed .: Gerhard Reinhold. Self-published, Essen 2019, ISBN 978-3-00-063109-2 , p. 588 (DNB access signature L-2019-061562).
  2. ↑ Gerhard Reinhold: Church bells - Christian world cultural heritage, illustrated using the example of the bell founder Otto, Hemelingen / Bremen . Nijmegen / NL 2019, p. 556 , urn : nbn: nl: ui: 22-2066 / 204770 (dissertation at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen).
  3. ^ Gerhard Reinhold: Otto bells . Essen 2019, p. 33, note 33 .
  4. ^ Karl Wüstefeld: The bell foundry F. Otto Hemelingen . Duderstadt 1925.
  5. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 178-179 .
  6. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 186-187 .
  7. ^ Bells in Arnstorf, St. Georg - information and audio samples.
  8. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 221-223 .
  9. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 202-206 .
  10. ↑ Sebastian Step: ... of great majestic abundance. For the 100th birthday of the bells of St. Josef in Krefeld . In: The home. Journal for the culture and homeland of the Lower Rhine . No. 69, 1998, pp. 93-98.
  11. ↑ Gerhard Hoffs: Register of the bell founders who worked for the Archdiocese of Cologne ( Memento of September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), p. 8.
  12. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 296-299 .
  13. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 66-68 .
  14. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 285-287 .
  15. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 316-323 .
  16. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 312-313 .
  17. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 310-311 .
  18. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 353-365 .
  19. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 226-241 .
  20. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 378-381 .
  21. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 85-95 .
  22. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 496-570 .
  23. ↑ G. Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 176-381 .
  24. ↑ Motet (ed.): Bell landscape diocese Mainz . Motette-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2005, p. 26.
  25. ↑ Gerhard Hoffs: Glockenmusik im Dormagen Deanery ( Memento from October 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), p. 65f.
  26. ↑ a b c Gerhard Hoffs: Glockenmusik der Katholische Kirchen Düsseldorfs ( Memento from October 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), p. 139f., P. 272f., P. 302f.
  27. ↑ a b www.tornadopilze.de ( Memento from January 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) - information about the Krefeld bells.
  28. ↑ Motet (ed.): Bell landscape diocese Mainz . Motette-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2005, p. 30.
  29. ^ Gerhard Reinhold: Otto bells . 2019, p. 190 to 200 .