Pummerin

Pummerin, bell in St. Stephen´s Cathedral in Vienna and the largest in Austria. The old Pummerin bell, which was cast in 1711 by J. Achamer with the metal from the cannon balls used by the Turks during the 2nd Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, was destroyed during World War II when the Stephansdom was severely damaged by fire on April 12, 1945. The bell, which weighed 22,511 kg and hung in the south tower, was called the Josephinian bell at first, but was later popularly called "Pummerin". The new Pummerin bell, dedicated by the province of Upper Austria, was cast from the metal of the old Pummerin on September 5, 1951 in the St. Florian foundry after an unsuccessful first cast. The bell has a diameter of 3.14 m, a height of 2.94 m, weighs 21.383 kg and is the second largest bell in western Europe after the bell in the Cathedral of Cologne (Germany) and the fifth-largest bell in the world. It is decorated with reliefs depicting the battle for Vienna in 1683 and the Stephansdom fire of 1945. The new Pummerin bell was rung for the first time on April 27, 1952. It was outfitted with an electric ringer in 1953, and has been hanging in the north tower since October 1957. The Pummerin is only rung at the following occasions: on principal feasts of the ecclesiastical year (Easter night, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Christmas Eve), on the feast day of St. Stephen (patrocinium), on New Year´s eve, on the death of a pope or the Archbishop of Vienna or the announcement of a new papacy or a new Archbishop of Vienna, on All Souls´ Day for the victims of World War II.