How I tried my hand as a bell ringer in the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross in Litomyšl
Have you ever longed to become a bell ringer? I always wanted to at least try it. It was on my list of romantic professions. I finally succeeded in this church and I will show you in a moment how precise and completely unromantic it looked.
Photos from the shoot
Basic information about the current bells
| Tone | weight | wreath diameter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Wenceslas | G1 | 750 kg | 1 050 mm |
| Virgin Mary | B1 | 380 kg | 880 mm |
| Saint Joseph | C2 | 320 kg | 800 mm |
Date of hanging in the tower: 16 April 2020
Producer.
Graphic design of the prayers on the bells: Václav Kočí
Funding: public collection, the town of Litomyšl, Jiří Mach (Václav bell)
Only during guided tours and on special occasions.
Photos from the bell blessing ceremony on 16 April 2020
(Author of photos František Renza)
Want to see the bells in person?
You can also wander around the castle hill with us live. Book your date.
What was the fate of the predecessors of today's bells?
Text taken from the Litomyšl website
The first bells were hung in the completed Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross on 18 September 1722.
However, during a fire in 1735, two of them spilled.
In 1766, three new bells were bought from Prague, but after the fire in 1775, two of them spilled again, and the same happened in the fire of 1814.
Only in 1818 new bells were cast.
The new bells were used until 1917. By order of 14 May 1917 they were requisitioned, on 15 May 1917 they were taken down and broken with pearl.
Other new bells were purchased from the collection and installed in September 1932.These bells were again requisitioned in March 1942. Since then the church tower has been empty.
The last bells were made by Rudolf Perner in Suchý Vrbný near České Budějovice:
- The large St. Wenceslas weighed 773.2 kg and had a diameter of 107.6 cm, a height of 115 cm, a reverberation time of 135 s.
- the middle bell, called Our Lady, weighed 453.2 kg, had a diameter of 90.1 cm, a height of 90 cm and a reverberation time of 100 s
- the smallest bell, St Joseph, weighed 303.7 kg, was 80.4 cm in diameter, 80 cm high and had a reverberation time of 90 seconds.
G´1.25 B´1.25 C´1.25
G´1 B´1.2 C´1.2
Prima: G´2 B´1.2 C´1.5
Thirds: B´1 Des´1.5 E flat´1.5
Quint: D´1 F´1.5 G´1.2
Octave upper: G´1 B´1.2 C´1.2
Lower octave: G´1.7 B´3 C´2
Decima: H´1 D´0.5 E´0.5
Duodecima: Es´ F´1 G´1.2
The great bell was electrically powered.
The collection in 1932 brought 48.827 CZK.
The great bell dedication ceremony took place on 25 September 1932.
