Crowning cathedrals, churches, chapels or municipalities, bell towers populate many corners of the world geography and have served both calls to faith as death notices or warnings about danger … But where are the biggest bells are of the world?
In Spain, Russia and Germany we can find these big bells crowning other equally spectacular and recognized (or with them) constructions. Some still sound today, others remain silent, with traces of a glorious past but flawed … try not to be too close to the still sound when Tanan, but all are worth a visit.
Bell Cologne Cathedral
With 24 tonnes, San Pedro Bell is the largest active (St. Petersglocke). Corona the most visited monument in Germany, Cologne Cathedral, with its 157 meters high also had record: it was the tallest building in the world until the completion of the Washington Monument in 1884, of 170 meters.
The Cathedral was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. During the nineteenth century, although the building already had other bells, wanted to do more, which exceeded that of San Pedro, but his tone was not harmonious and he moved and dismantled several times.
A Bell San Pedro, in the same main bell, accompanying other smaller but noteworthy, as Pretiosa (10.5 tons) or Speciosa (5.6 tons).
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The great bell of Czar
In Moscow with 216 tons is the Tsar Bell, the Great Tsar Bell, broken and out of service. It has a height of 6.14 meters and a diameter of 6.6 meters. It is the largest bell in the world, although not in operation: lying on the floor of the Kremlin, next to the Ivan the Great Bell Tower and tourists are photographed as tiny figures at its feet.
Commissioned by the Russian Empress Anna, niece of Peter the Great, he was cast in bronze by masters Ivan and his son Mikhail Motorin between 1733 and 1735 and other artists made ornaments, portraits and inscriptions.
The bell broke during a fire in 1737 and we can also see the fragment detached from it. In 1836, the Tsar Bell was placed on a stand next to the bell tower of St. Ivan. It is sometimes known as “Kolokol III” (third season) because it is the third with this name, which comes from a previous casting.
We cannot help but look at the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, because here we find “the Great Assumption Bell” among 24 other huge bells…
La Gorda, Toledo
With nearly 18 tons, “la Gorda” of the Cathedral of Toledo is the largest bell in Spain, less known as the bell of San Eugenio. Cathedral of Santa Maria de Toledo, also called Cathedral of Spain, it looks out with its imposing tower between the narrow streets of Toledo ‘s historic center and towering over the city view from beyond the Tagus.
La Gorda is a bell with legend, as it was said at its inauguration on December 8, 1755, with the first bell, glass was broke and even causes premature birth.
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Although it appears that such a fable about these and other ravages of the great bell could be due to concealment of a defect casting. The bell had caused such excitement that did not sound good and had overtones of breaking.
We attempted to remedy this failure, the enormous Original clapper (today remains at the foot of the hood) was changed but in the end there was a crack that remains in the hood, in his day sponsored by the Cardinal-Archbishop of Toledo, Luis Antonio de Borbon, son of Felipe V and brother of Carlos III.
Probably the Cantabrian Ringer responsible for this and some other defective bells did not receive many orders more…
We hope this musical tour through the largest bells in the world and some of the anecdotes related to them encourage you to know them. Perhaps in your next trip, you hearken to the top of the towers to see if host bells compete with any of these.
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