Trinitas bell
The Trinitas bell , popularly known as Bourdon , is the heaviest historical church bell in the Netherlands . It was cast in 1570 by the bell caster Hendrik van Trier , who came from Aachen and who lived in Delft , from whom the eleven heavy bells of the Groningen Martinikirche also come. The Trinitas bell weighs nearly nine tons and has a diameter of 2.3 meters. It hangs in the Oude Kerk ("Old Church") in Delft .
Although the bourdon can be heard every day, as it is struck with a hammer every full hour (the half hour is struck by the second bell, the laudation bell from 1719), it is only rung on very special occasions, such as for example Burials in the Dutch royal family, as it causes such strong vibrations that damage to the structure or even the collapse of the 75-meter-high leaning tower of the church are feared.
The bell was rung for the last time at the royal funerals of Queen Juliana on March 30, 2004 and Prince Claus on October 6, 2002; before that, the bell last rang on December 8, 1962, when Queen Wilhelmina was buried.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Trinitas Bell on the Church's site , accessed November 14, 2018