Sigismund Bell

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The Sigismund Bell ( Polish: Dzwon Zygmunt ) is the largest bell in the Wawel Cathedral in Krakow and a donation from King Sigismund I the Elder .

history

Jan Matejko: Hanging the Sigismund Bell 1521 in Krakow (1874)

The Sigismund bell was cast in 1520 in Kraków by Hans Beheim the Younger (1480–1533), probably the son of Hans Beheim the Elder , from Nuremberg . On July 13, she was pulled up the tower within an hour. This happened under the observation of the king and his family as well as the court and the Krakow citizens. The Sigismund Bell was the largest bell in Poland for centuries, until almost 500 years after its creation it was pushed into third place by the 15 and 11.6 ton bells of the Licheń Stary Church, which was completed in 2004 . Nevertheless, the Sigismund Bell is the most famous bell in Poland.

The bell is rung by twelve trained bell rangers on all high feasts and other special feast days. The fact that ringing the bell can be dangerous became apparent in the 1920s: A new bell ringer did not let go of the rope in time and was hurled out of the tower window by the swing of the bell hanging on the rope. The rope swung around the corner of the tower, but the bell ringer managed to push off with his feet on the wall, so that when the bell swung back he was pulled back into the tower. He was unharmed. Since then, the tower window at the level of the Sigismund bell has been secured with wire mesh.

Data

Sigismund Bell
  • Strike tone : g 0
  • Bell mass: 9,650 kg
  • Mass clapper : 365 kg
  • Total height: 241 cm
  • Lower diameter: 242 cm
  • Brass knuckles thickness: 20.2 cm
  • Main inscription:
DEO OPT MAX AC VIRGINI DEIPARAE SANCTISQUE PATRONIS SUIS DIVUS SIGISMUNDUS POLONIAE REX CAMPANAM HANC DIGNAM ANIMI OPERUMQUE AC GESTORUM SUORUM MAGNITUDINE FIERI FECIT ANNO SALUTIS MDXX
(God, the best, the greatest and the Virgin and Mother of God, and the holy patrons, His divinity Sigismund, King of Poland, had this bell erected, worthy of the greatness of his soul and his works, in the year of redemption, 1520.)

More bells of the cathedral

In addition to the Sigismund bell , four other bells were originally used to ring the cathedral . You can no longer be rung because of a visitor's staircase:

  • Półzygmunt (half-Sigismund) from 1463, 189.3 cm lower diameter, ≈6,000 kg, d 1
  • Urban from 1757, 167.1 cm lower diameter, ≈3,000 kg, h 0
  • Kardynał from 1455, 159.3 cm lower diameter, ≈3,000 kg, it 1
  • Głownik from 1460, 139 cm lower diameter, ≈1,800 kg, it 1

The three smaller silver bells from the 14th to 17th centuries and the John Paul II bell from 2014 ring daily. You are in the north tower of the cathedral:

  • Goworek from the 15th century, 98.2 cm lower diameter, ≈750 kg, h 1
  • Nowak from the 14th century, 83.2 cm lower diameter, ≈420 kg, cis 2nd
  • Maciek from 1669, 71.8 cm lower diameter, ≈210 kg, cis 2
  • John Paul II from 2014, ≈500 kg, a 1

Trivia

The bell is named after the Antarctic Bell Zygmunt .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Albert Zasada and Andreas Philipp: The bells of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption and the Cathedral of St. Stanislaus and Wenceslas in Krakow . In: Yearbook for bell technology. Volume 21/22 (2009/2010), p. 139.

Web links

Commons : Sigismund Bell  - collection of images, videos and audio files