Petersglocke


Saint Peter's bell, referred to in the Colognian dialect as Decke or Dekke Pitter and in common parlance as Dicker Pitter, is the largest bell in Cologne Cathedral. It was cast in 1923 by Heinrich Ulrich in Apolda and hangs in the belfry of the south tower. With a weight of approximately, a clapper weighing ~ and a diameter of, it's the second largest freely swinging ringable bell in the world, after the bell of the People's Salvation Cathedral.

History

When the bell was cast in 1923, the bell-founder refused to take German marks as a payment because of the hyper-inflation. Instead the Cathedral Chapter paid 5000 US dollars.
The predecessor of the bell was the "Emperor's Bell" or Gloriosa of 1873 which at was even heavier than the St. Peter's bell. In 1918 it was melted down, because of the poor sound quality and the inadequate tone. Its metal was used for war purposes. During its thirty-year life it had regularly been put out of service to attempt to fix the inappropriate sound. Because of this the bell was nicknamed Große Schweigerin, or "big silence".

The crack

In 1951, a long crack appeared on the bell. It was welded in 1956 by the company Lachenmeyer from Nördlingen. After repairs, the bell received a new, lighter clapper, and it was rotated approximately 20 degrees so that the clapper did not strike the damaged area.

The broken clapper

On 6 January 2011, the approximately clapper of the bell broke and dropped on the floor below. As it could not be repaired, a new one was cast and was installed in December of the same year. It was later discovered that the accident happened because the clapper had not been correctly installed in the 1950s, thus increasing wear, which consequently led to material degradation. The new clapper weighs approx. and is long. It was installed on 2 December 2011, and was first rung on 7 December 2011.

Ringing ordinance

The bell is only rung on special occasions and on solemnities. The declaration or death of an Archbishop of Cologne or of a Pope, as well as the investiture of a new archbishop also warrant tolling St. Peter. All bells of the cathedral rang on the eve of 28 March 1936, a Friedensappell of Hitler, which he made in Cologne due to the Reichstag elections. Likewise, the St. Petersglocke declared the end of World War II above the ruins of the city of Cologne in 1945, and in 1990 the reunification of Germany.
As a rule, St. Petersglocke rings solo for ten minutes before all the others, which join in accordance with the general ringing ordinance. However, not all South Tower bells will be rung every time. For the Feast of the Immaculate Conception bells 1–6 are rung and for the Christmas Eve Vigil bells 1–3.
Date/DayTimeReason
7 December19:30Pre-Ringing for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
8. December09:35Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
8. December18:05Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
24 December19:15Pre-Ringing for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord on Christmas Eve
24 December23:05Christmas Vigil on Christmas Eve
25 December09:35Christmas Day
1 January00:00Pre-Ringing for the new Year
5 January19:30Pre-Ringing for the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
6 January09:35Epiphany of the Lord/Three Kings' Day
Holy Saturday≈23:15Glory of Easter for the Easter Vigil
Easter Sunday09:35Resurrection of the Lord
Eve of Ascension Day19:30Pre-Ringing for Ascension Day
Ascension Day09:35Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Pentecost Eve19:30Pre-Ringing for the Solemnity of Pentecost
Pentecost09:35Solemnity of Pentecost
Eve of Corpus Christi19:30Pre-Ringing for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi09:35Solemnity of Corpus Christi
Corpus ChristiProcession and
Entrance of the Blessed Sacrament
Solemnity of Corpus Christi
28 June19:30Pre-Ringing for the High/Patronage Feast of St. Peter and Paul
29 June09:35High/Patronage Feast of St. Peter und Paul
29 June18:05High/Patronage Feast of St. Peter und Paul
31 October19:30Pre-Ringing on All Hallows Eve
1 November09:35All Hallows/All Saints' Day

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