Bell house

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Round bell house in Cikháj (goat grove) in the Highlands region

A bell house or bell house (Czech. Zvonička) is a separate, usually tower-like building that is used to hang a bell, but unlike the bell tower (Czech. Zvonice) is not connected to a church or stands next to a church. Bell houses can also be built in the form of small chapels and are usually only found in villages where there is no church. Their distribution area is essentially limited to the Czech Republic , Austria , Silesia and Germany , with most of them being found in Bohemia . Bell houses are mostly located on the village square (Czech: náves), many of them are listed.

The starting point for the construction of small bell frames (bell chairs) for the so-called fire bells or alarm bells was the fire patent of Empress Maria Theresa , which was granted on August 21, 1751 for the Austrian states. It contained a total of 30 articles in which, among other things, the planting of trees between the houses, the creation of ponds and the erection of a fire bell in each village was ordered. Due to the sluggish adherence to these orders, the patent was renewed by Emperor Joseph II in 1787.

Designs

Bell house in Dlouhá Třebová (1906)

In the simplest version, the bell was hung in a treetop or in forked trees and was usually not even covered. After that, wooden buildings were erected around a wooden support that served as a bell frame to hang the bell outside. The next step in the development of the bell racks was the erection of stone buildings. As a result, the bell was no longer exposed to wind and weather. The further architectural design led to more representative and long-lasting buildings, which were mostly in the form of small chapels or places of worship. The bellhouses were - if possible - built at elevated points in the area. Due to the additional religious function of the bellhouses, there are precise ringing orders. B. always performed at noon at 12 noon , but also rung in the event of death.

Examples of bell houses

Wooden bell houses

Stone bellhouses

  • Bell house in Klutschkau (Kluček) near Liebeschitz ( Liběšice u Žatce ), now Norbert's chapel

  • Bell house in Litschkau (Ličkov) near Liebeschitz

  • Bell house in Kutterschin (Chudeřín) near Žatec (Saaz)

  • Half-timbered bell house in Kublov , Okres Beroun

  • Glockenhäusl in Elsenau (Styria)

  • Bell chapel in Bierkowice in Opole Voivodeship

Combined schoolhouse and bell house

There are also buildings where the bell house was combined with the school house:

  • Schoolhouse and bell house in Obergrund (Horní Podluží)

  • Schoolhouse and bell house in Hattgenstein

  • School room and bell house in a box

See also: Bells Stack

literature

  • Bernhard Grueber : The art of the Middle Ages in Bohemia, Part IV, Vienna 1879, p. 106 ff.
  • Anton Podlaha: Topography of historical and artistic monuments in the Kingdom of Bohemia. Volume IX. The Rokytzan Political District. Prague, 1901, p. 70
  • Hana Hlušičková: Technické památky v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku IV. Praha: Libri, 2004, ISBN 80-7277-160-4 , 488 pp. (Czech)
  • Kuča, Karel: České, moravské a slezské zvonice. Praha: Libri, 2001, ISBN 80-7277-018-7 , p. 9. (Czech.)
  • Josef Kšír: Dřevěné zvoničky na Hané, Vlastenecký spolek musejní, Olomouc 1947 (Czech)

Web links

Commons : Bell houses  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Religious Traditions and Firebells in Moravian Wallachia (accessed October 2, 2017)
  2. ↑ Georg Lang: Bell towers in the Oberviechtacher area (accessed on October 2, 2017)
  3. ↑ Glockenhäusl Konatsried (accessed on October 2, 2017)
  4. ↑ Königsee-Rottenbach: Glockenhaus Garsitz (accessed on October 2, 2017)
  5. ↑ Glockenhaus Ziegelroda ( Memento from October 3, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed October 2, 2017)
  6. ↑ Glockenhaus Wallmenroth (accessed on October 2, 2017)
  7. ↑ Glockenhaus Hattgenstein (accessed on October 2, 2017)
  8. ↑ Schulstub'n im Glockenhäusl in Kasten (accessed on October 2, 2017)