Millennium Bell
The World Peace Bell , also known as the Millennium Bell , was cast in France on December 11, 1998 by the Paccard bell foundry . The bell hangs in Newport , Kentucky today . It weighs 33,285 kg and has a lower diameter of 3.70 m. The bell is suspended from a cranked steel yoke. Due to the atypical offset, which shifts the axis of rotation to the center of gravity of the bell, the bell does not swing in the classic sense, but tilts around the axis of rotation.
When it is rung, it strikes 12 times a minute; every beat can be heard in good weather up to approx. 40 km away.
Project planning and manufacturing
The original plan was initially in the summer of 1997 to manufacture the bell in Newport, Kentucky and to set up a foundry there. Furthermore, the construction of a millennium monument was planned, in which the bell should hang together with a carillon . These plans were later rejected and a smaller bell tower with a museum was built instead.
After the bell was cast by Paccard in Joël Archer's “Fonderie de l'Atlantique” foundry in Nantes , which casts huge ship propellers and has a corresponding furnace, it was then taken across the Atlantic by ship. She arrived in New Orleans and was loaded onto a barge that went over the Mississippi and then up the Ohio River during the summer of 1999. Many stopovers were made along the rivers for special celebrations before arriving in Newport, Kentucky.
The bell was inaugurated on December 31, 1999 and rang for the first time at the beginning of 2000. It is rung every day at noon and on special occasions.
Technical specifications
| Mass of it: yoke clapper |
33,285 kg 7,490 kg 3,120 kg |
| diameter | 3.70 m |
| material | 80% copper 20% tin |
| Nominal | A (−1) |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Millennium Freedom Tower 2000 , never built.
- ↑ The World Peace Bell ( Memento of October 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Web links
See also
Coordinates: 39 ° 5 ′ 32.17 " N , 84 ° 29 ′ 44.67" W.