Maria Gloriosa

The Gloriosa is a bell tower in the middle of the Erfurt Cathedral. It was cast by Gerhard van Wou in the night of 7 to July 8, 1497 and weighs 11.45 tonnes at 2.62 m height and a diameter of 2.56 m. This makes it the largest free-swinging medieval bell in the world. In addition, it is one of the most beautiful sounding bells in the world. Occasionally it is therefore queen of all bells ( omnium regina campanarum ) called. The contract for their manufacture had Bishop John Bonemilch largely driven quartered and also the bell-founder Wou at his own expense at home. It was only in 1499 moved to the tower and rang the first time on May 19, 1499. The Gloriosa served as the basis for a number of large bells, such as at the Frankfurt Gloriosa, the great bell of the Dresden Kreuz Cross Church and Saint Peter Bell in the Cologne Cathedral.

Inscription

" Laude Patronos cano gloriosa Fulgus arcens et demones malignos Sacra Templis a populo sonanda Carmine pulso Gerhardus wou de Campi me fecit. Anno Dni [ Domini ] M. CCCC.XCV II "

"I sing with glorious rich [ gloriosa ] praise the patrons, defensively lightning and evil spirits, ring the bell for service to be terminated by the people singing in the cathedral. Gerhardus Wou from Kampen has cast me. In the year of the Lord 1497th "

Repairs

The end of 1984 jumped the Gloriosa in the ringing in of Christmas and in 1985 welded in the Tower of Hans Meyer and son laugh. The welded crack length was 70 cm at 19 cm wall thickness. In order to do all the wooden parts of the tower had to be removed. It was a portable furnace mounted in the tower.

The responsible bells expert Dipl. -Ing. Kurt Kramer ruled after welding ( a German - German joint project): " The Gloriosa has not only her long-lost voice again, it sounds rather nice, as each one has heard survivor today." The decay, an important bell - parameters previously took about three and a half minutes, was after welding in the past five minutes.

This repair, however, was not permanent: During the renovation of the Erfurt Cathedral, the bell had to be removed because of a 40 -cm-long new hair crack and repaired for around 170,000 euros in the Glockenschweißerei laugh Meyer in Nördlingen. Thus, the Gloriosa had left for the first time in 500 years the tower. In October 2004, Bell returned to the Erfurt Cathedral. On December 8, 2004, she was rung for the first time after repair. Now, their decay time is good 6 minutes (370 seconds).

In March 2006, the Gloriosa has been equipped with a new, 366 -pound clapper.

Läuteordnung

The Gloriosa is rung only on special occasions and on high religious holidays.

The Gloriosa rang out as planned on October 3, 2010, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of German unity, as on September 24, 2011 after the High Mass with Pope Benedict XVI. in the Cathedral Square in Erfurt, on the occasion of his visit to Germany. On April 26, 2012, she rang for 10-year commemoration of the victims of the killing spree at the Gutenberg -Gymnasium.

There are in Erfurt the saying: "If the Gloriosa speaks, all other bells have to be silent. " In fact, it is so that the Gloriosa for all occasions generally always beats as the first and all the other bells to delayed invade the ringing.

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