Pummerin
Encyclopedia
Pummerin is the name of the two largest bells
in the history of the Stephansdom
in Vienna
.
invaders in the Second Turkish Siege of Vienna
.
The church bell
cost 19,400 florin
s to cast. Images of St. Joseph
, St. Mary
as the Immaculate Conception
, and St. Leopold
adorned the bell
. These figures bore the arms of Bohemia
, Hungary
, the Holy Roman Empire
, and Austria
.
It had a diameter of 3.16 meters (2 centimeters more than the New Pummerin),
with a pitch of B(a half-tone lower than the New Pummerin).
On December 15, 1711,
Bishop
Franz Ferdinand Freiherr von Rummel consecrated the bell, which was then installed in the lower part of the high south tower of the cathedral. It rang for the first time on January 26, 1712 to mark the entry of Charles VI
to Vienna
from Frankfurt
after his coronation as Emperor
.
It took a quarter-hour for 16 men pulling on the bell rope to swing the heavy bell back-and-forth enough before the clapper would strike. But the forces from swinging the 22,500 kg
(49,600 lb
) bell endangered the structure of the beloved tower, so in 1878 Friedrich von Schmidt
, the cathedral's architect, ordered that it be rung only by pulling its clapper
, instead of being swung.
http://www.deca-forum.net/deca-cgi/getdoc.pl?DEF=c%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Chida;DATEN=C%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cdata;THE=C%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cidx;USER=bild;DOK_TPL=deca_doc.tpl;LIST_TPL=deca_list.tpl;FCT=g;iftxt=;N_ftxt=0;R_ftxt=%3D;ikufo=;N_kufo=1;R_kufo=%3D;i024=wien;N_024=2;R_024=%3D;i031=;N_031=3;R_031=%3D;i029=;N_029=4;R_029=%3D;iauen=;N_auen=5;R_auen=%3D;i039=;N_039=6;R_039=%3D&KEY=fot%20w0007331A photo of it in place] shows how the Old Pummerin was then borne by wooden rails on which its lip rested. When it was to be rung, the rails had to be lowered away from it by turning jackscrew
s, and then eight men pulled on the two ropes attached to its heavy clapper
.
The Old Pummerin last sounded on Easter 1937. A fire caused by war-time looters of near-by shops destroyed the bell when its wooden cradle burned through and the bell crashed onto the stone floor of the south tower on April 12, 1945.
.jpg)
The new Pummerin (officially named for St. Mary) was a gift from the province of Upper Austria
and was cast
on 5 September 1951 in St. Florian, Upper Austria
from the Old Pummerin's metal (supplemented by metal from some of the remaining captured Turkish cannons at Vienna's Heeresgeschichtliches Museum
military museum).
At 20,130 kg (44,380 lb) (without the clapper weighs 813 kg), the new Pummerin is the largest bell in Austria and the third largest swinging bell in Europe after the 23,500 kg (51,810 lb) Peter in Cologne Cathedral
and the 22,700 kg Maria Dolens in Rovereto
, Italy
.
The http://www.deca-forum.net/deca-cgi/getdoc.pl?DEF=c%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Chida;DATEN=C%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cdata;THE=C%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cidx;USER=bild;DOK_TPL=deca_doc.tpl;LIST_TPL=deca_list.tpl;FCT=g;iftxt=Pummerin%20;N_ftxt=0;R_ftxt=%3D;ikufo=;N_kufo=1;R_kufo=%3D;i024=wien;N_024=2;R_024=%3D;i031=;N_031=3;R_031=%3D;i029=;N_029=4;R_029=%3D;iauen=;N_auen=5;R_auen=%3D;i039=;N_039=6;R_039=%3D&KEY=fot%20w0014700new bell] has a diameter of 3.14 meters (10 ft 4 in)
and a height of 2.94 meters.
The bell bears three reliefs showing the Blessed Virgin as the Immaculate Conception
, a scene from the Ottoman siege of Vienna (1683), and a scene of the conflagration in 1945. Like the Old Pummerin, the heads of Turks adorn the brackets at the top, and an interlocking square chain design decorates the bottom rim.
It arrived in Vienna
on 26 April 1952 and was consecrated by Cardinal Theodor Innitzer that same day. It rang for the first time the next day at a Pontifical High Mass
, but from the cathedral's building yard where it remained until its new home was completed.
The cathedral authorities wanted the main bell to again be a traditional swinging bell, so it was decided to design the new bell this way, and (because its old home in the south tower had already been proven too vulnerable) to hang it in the shorter, but sturdier, north tower. Repair of the landmark south tower had been given higher priority, so the north tower was not ready to receive its new tenant until five years later. The new Pummerin was driven through the Giant's Door on the west front and installed on a steel structure within the north tower on 5 October 1957.
The Pummerin sounds on only a few special occasions such as high Catholic holidays, state funerals, and at the beginning of the New Year
, when it is broadcast on national television. To minimize excess vibrations of the supporting structure, since 2003 the bell's electrical swinging mechanism has been carefully controlled by a computer.
An elevator takes visitors up the 68 meters to the bell.
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
in the history of the Stephansdom
Stephansdom
St. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Old Pummerin
http://www.deca-forum.net/deca-cgi/getdoc.pl?DEF=c%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Chida;DATEN=C%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cdata;THE=C%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cidx;USER=bild;DOK_TPL=deca_doc.tpl;LIST_TPL=deca_list.tpl;FCT=g;iftxt=;N_ftxt=0;R_ftxt=%3D;ikufo=;N_kufo=1;R_kufo=%3D;i024=wien;N_024=2;R_024=%3D;i031=;N_031=3;R_031=%3D;i029=;N_029=4;R_029=%3D;iauen=;N_auen=5;R_auen=%3D;i039=;N_039=6;R_039=%3D&KEY=fot%20w0007332The Old Pummerin] was originally cast in 1705 from 208 of the 300 cannon captured from the MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
invaders in the Second Turkish Siege of Vienna
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
.
The church bell
Church bell
A church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
cost 19,400 florin
Austro-Hungarian gulden
The Gulden or forint was the currency of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1754 and 1892 when it was replaced by the Krone/korona as part of the introduction of the gold standard. In Austria, the Gulden was initially divided into 60 Kreuzer, and in Hungary, the...
s to cast. Images of St. Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
, St. Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
as the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
, and St. Leopold
Leopold III, Margrave of Austria
Saint Leopold III was the Margrave of Austria in 1073–1136. He is the patron saint of Austria, of the city of Vienna, of Lower Austria, and, jointly with Saint Florian, of Upper Austria. His feast day is November 15.-Biography:...
adorned the bell
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
. These figures bore the arms of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
It had a diameter of 3.16 meters (2 centimeters more than the New Pummerin),
with a pitch of B(a half-tone lower than the New Pummerin).
On December 15, 1711,
Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Franz Ferdinand Freiherr von Rummel consecrated the bell, which was then installed in the lower part of the high south tower of the cathedral. It rang for the first time on January 26, 1712 to mark the entry of Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
from Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
after his coronation as Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
.
It took a quarter-hour for 16 men pulling on the bell rope to swing the heavy bell back-and-forth enough before the clapper would strike. But the forces from swinging the 22,500 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
(49,600 lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
) bell endangered the structure of the beloved tower, so in 1878 Friedrich von Schmidt
Friedrich von Schmidt
Friedrich von Schmidt was an architect who worked in late 19th century Vienna....
, the cathedral's architect, ordered that it be rung only by pulling its clapper
Clapper
A clapper may refer to one of the following:*Part of a bell*Clapper bridge*A sound-activated gadget called The Clapper*A character from the video game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest*Clapboard used in film production...
, instead of being swung.
http://www.deca-forum.net/deca-cgi/getdoc.pl?DEF=c%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Chida;DATEN=C%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cdata;THE=C%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cidx;USER=bild;DOK_TPL=deca_doc.tpl;LIST_TPL=deca_list.tpl;FCT=g;iftxt=;N_ftxt=0;R_ftxt=%3D;ikufo=;N_kufo=1;R_kufo=%3D;i024=wien;N_024=2;R_024=%3D;i031=;N_031=3;R_031=%3D;i029=;N_029=4;R_029=%3D;iauen=;N_auen=5;R_auen=%3D;i039=;N_039=6;R_039=%3D&KEY=fot%20w0007331A photo of it in place] shows how the Old Pummerin was then borne by wooden rails on which its lip rested. When it was to be rung, the rails had to be lowered away from it by turning jackscrew
Jackscrew
A jackscrew is a type of jack which is operated by turning a leadscrew. In the form of a screw jack it is commonly used to lift heavy weights such as the foundations of houses, or large vehicles.-Advantages:...
s, and then eight men pulled on the two ropes attached to its heavy clapper
Clapper
A clapper may refer to one of the following:*Part of a bell*Clapper bridge*A sound-activated gadget called The Clapper*A character from the video game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest*Clapboard used in film production...
.
The Old Pummerin last sounded on Easter 1937. A fire caused by war-time looters of near-by shops destroyed the bell when its wooden cradle burned through and the bell crashed onto the stone floor of the south tower on April 12, 1945.
New Pummerin
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
and was cast
on 5 September 1951 in St. Florian, Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
from the Old Pummerin's metal (supplemented by metal from some of the remaining captured Turkish cannons at Vienna's Heeresgeschichtliches Museum
Heeresgeschichtliches Museum
The Heeresgeschichtliches Museum is a military history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It claims to be the oldest and largest purpose-built military history museum in the world...
military museum).
At 20,130 kg (44,380 lb) (without the clapper weighs 813 kg), the new Pummerin is the largest bell in Austria and the third largest swinging bell in Europe after the 23,500 kg (51,810 lb) Peter in Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site...
and the 22,700 kg Maria Dolens in Rovereto
Rovereto
Rovereto is a city and comune in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River.-History:Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier between the bishopric of Trento - an independent state until 1797 - and the republic of Venice, and later...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
The http://www.deca-forum.net/deca-cgi/getdoc.pl?DEF=c%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Chida;DATEN=C%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cdata;THE=C%3A%5Cdata%5Cdeca%5Cidx;USER=bild;DOK_TPL=deca_doc.tpl;LIST_TPL=deca_list.tpl;FCT=g;iftxt=Pummerin%20;N_ftxt=0;R_ftxt=%3D;ikufo=;N_kufo=1;R_kufo=%3D;i024=wien;N_024=2;R_024=%3D;i031=;N_031=3;R_031=%3D;i029=;N_029=4;R_029=%3D;iauen=;N_auen=5;R_auen=%3D;i039=;N_039=6;R_039=%3D&KEY=fot%20w0014700new bell] has a diameter of 3.14 meters (10 ft 4 in)
and a height of 2.94 meters.
The bell bears three reliefs showing the Blessed Virgin as the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
, a scene from the Ottoman siege of Vienna (1683), and a scene of the conflagration in 1945. Like the Old Pummerin, the heads of Turks adorn the brackets at the top, and an interlocking square chain design decorates the bottom rim.
It arrived in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
on 26 April 1952 and was consecrated by Cardinal Theodor Innitzer that same day. It rang for the first time the next day at a Pontifical High Mass
Pontifical High Mass
In the context of the Tridentine Mass of the Roman Catholic Church, a Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a bishop using certain prescribed ceremonies. The term is also used among Anglo-Catholic Anglicans.-Origins:In the early Church,...
, but from the cathedral's building yard where it remained until its new home was completed.
The cathedral authorities wanted the main bell to again be a traditional swinging bell, so it was decided to design the new bell this way, and (because its old home in the south tower had already been proven too vulnerable) to hang it in the shorter, but sturdier, north tower. Repair of the landmark south tower had been given higher priority, so the north tower was not ready to receive its new tenant until five years later. The new Pummerin was driven through the Giant's Door on the west front and installed on a steel structure within the north tower on 5 October 1957.
The Pummerin sounds on only a few special occasions such as high Catholic holidays, state funerals, and at the beginning of the New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
, when it is broadcast on national television. To minimize excess vibrations of the supporting structure, since 2003 the bell's electrical swinging mechanism has been carefully controlled by a computer.
An elevator takes visitors up the 68 meters to the bell.