Glocken

Bells: About 2,500 antique bells still exist in Austria. During the two World Wars numerous bells were melted down for the production of munitions and armaments. However, after 1945 more than 15,000 new bells were produced in the Austrian bell foundries. The oldest bell, an 11^th century piece from the church of Maria Schmerzen am Freudenberg is exhibited in the diocesan museum of Klagenfurt. The oldest bell whose date of manufacture (1200) is known is at Sankt Martin am Ybbsfeld (Lower Austria). Austria´s biggest bell is the Pummerin (20,132 kg) at St. Stephen´s cathedral in Vienna. Biggest bells in the provinces: Schloß Eisenstadt, palace (1692, 7,200 kg); Maria Saal, church (1687, 6,000 kg); Stift Melk, collegiate church (1739, 7,840 kg); Stift St. Florian, collegiate church (1717, 8,843 kg); Salzburger Dom, cathedral (1961, 14,256 kg); Mariazell, pilgrimage church (1950, 5,702 kg); Jesuitenkirche, church, in Innsbruck (1959, 9,050 kg); Dicker Turm (Katzenturm), bell tower in the town of Feldkirch (1857, 7,500 kg). Nowadays only two bell foundries (at Innsbruck and Salzburg) produce church bells in Austria. The carillon, Glockenspiel, is not a tradition instrument in Austria. The only antique carillon in Austria can be seen at the Residenz in Salzburg. Several major carillons were however produced after World War II.

Literature: J. F. Fahrngruber, Hosanna in excelsis, 1894; A. Weißenbäck and J. Pfundner, Tönendes Erz, 1961.