MARKDORF (D), St. Nikolaus, Geläutepräsentation (Turmaufnahme)

This image shows the bells of the Catholic parish church of St. Nicholas in Markdorf. The small town of Markdorf, situated in the picturesque Linzgau region, lies not far from the shores of Lake Constance and has approximately 14,300 inhabitants. Due to its elevated location and the church tower visible from afar, the Catholic Church of St. Nicholas is one of the town's main landmarks. The oldest parts of the church date back to the 11th century. After 1200, a new Romanesque church was built, which was replaced in the last third of the 14th century by a larger Gothic structure. This is a three-aisled nave in the style of a basilica with pillars. In 1842, a devastating fire in the upper town severely damaged the church. It was subsequently rebuilt in its present form. A highlight of the church is the Chapel of the Protective Cloak, added to the nave in 1660, which is designed with great splendor. It was built for the Brotherhood of Protection, founded in Markdorf around 1450, after the former brotherhood church was converted into a Capuchin monastery. The lower levels of the church tower, which today stands almost 70 meters tall, date back to around 1200. At that time, the church tower also served as a defensive tower. The original medieval peal of bells in this tower consisted of nine bronze bells, all of which melted in the fire of 1842. As replacements, the church received a new peal shortly afterward from Carl Rosenlächer of Konstanz. Exactly 100 years later, during World War II, these bells were smashed in the tower and melted down for the war effort. After the war, in 1949, six new bells were donated. These were housed in a wooden structure atop the old church tower. After the wooden structure was demolished in 1966 and the tower received its current concrete upper section, the six-bell peal from 1949 was replaced by seven bronze bells, newly cast by Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling in Heidelberg. These bells are now located in the lower part of the new tower upper section. They hang in a steel bell frame on steel yokes, and the concrete space creates an almost breathtaking, reverberant acoustic. Due to the limited sound projection, the peal sounds rather subdued from the outside, but is nonetheless very impressive and resonant. ... BELL DATA: Bell 1: St. Nicholas Bell, C#, F. W. Schilling/Heidelberg 1966, 2325 kg, diameter = 1485 mm Bell 2: St. Michael's Bell, E, F. W. Schilling/Heidelberg 1966, 1279 kg, diameter = 1232 mm Bell 3: St. Agatha Bell, F#, F. W. Schilling/Heidelberg 1966, 880 kg, diameter = 1091 mm Bell 4: St. Mary's Bell, G#, F. W. Schilling/Heidelberg 1966, 786 kg, diameter = 1043 mm Bell 5: St. Joseph's Bell, B, F. W. Schilling/Heidelberg 1966 453 kg, diameter = 871 mm Bell 6: St. Cecilia's Bell, C#, F. W. Schilling/Heidelberg 1966, 309 kg, diameter = 773 mm Bell 7: Poor Souls' Bell, D#, F. W. Schilling/Heidelberg 1966, 214 kg, diameter = 682 mm VIDEO SCHEDULE: 0:00 Intro with slideshow of the tower and bells 0:04 Hour strike 0:55 Large Te Deum motif C#' E' F#' 4:00 Individual bells 4:13 Bell 7 D#'' 7:05 Bell 6 C#'' 9:57 Bell 5 B' 12:48 Bell 4 G#' 15:47 Bell 3 F#' 18:48 Bell 2 E' 22:02 Bell 1 C#' 25:48 Full peal C#' E' F#' G#' B' C#'' D#'' Due to a technical defect in Bell 5, it was rung manually for the video. This recording was made separately. I would like to sincerely thank everyone involved in the parish for making the recordings possible, especially Alexander for his dedication, as well as @Angelusglocke for the organization and @dplpkirchenglocken for being there and providing support!