Pummerin

The Pummerin ("boomer") or Marienglocke ("Mary Bell") is the bourdon bell in the Stephansdom, St. Stephen's Cathedral, in Vienna.

The Pummerin ("boomer") or Marienglocke ("Mary Bell") is the bourdon bell in the Stephansdom, St. Stephen's Cathedral, in Vienna. A photo of it in place shows how the Old Pummerin was then borne by wooden rails on which its lip rested. When it was to be rung, the rails had to be lowered away from it by turning jackscrews, and then eight men pulled on the two ropes attached to its heavy clapper. The Old Pummerin last sounded on Easter 1937. A fire caused by war-time looters of near-by shops destroyed the bell when its wooden cradle burned through and the bell crashed onto the stone floor of the south tower on April 12, 1945, along with Johannesglocke of the Northern tower, Zwölferin, and Neuerin of the south front tower. The other 6 bells of the north front tower survived the fire and still exist today. The other 11 bells of the Southern tower were cast in 1960, after the fire. The new bell has a diameter of and a height of . The bell bears three reliefs showing the Blessed Virgin as the Immaculate Conception, a scene from the Ottoman siege of Vienna (1683), and a scene of the conflagration in 1945. Like the Old Pummerin, the heads of Turks adorn the brackets at the top, and an interlocking square chain design decorates the bottom rim. It arrived in Vienna on 26 April 1952 and was consecrated by Cardinal Theodor Innitzer that same day. It rang for the first time the next day at a Pontifical High Mass, but from the cathedral's building yard where it remained until its new home was completed. The cathedral authorities wanted the main bell to again be a traditional swinging bell, so it was decided to design the new bell this way, and (because its old home in the south tower had already been proven too vulnerable) to hang it in the shorter, but sturdier, north tower. Repair of the landmark south tower had been given higher priority, so the north tower was not ready to receive its new tenant until five years later. The new Pummerin was driven through the Giant's Door on the west facade and installed on a steel structure within the north tower on 5 October 1957. The Pummerin sounds on only a few special occasions such as high Catholic holidays such as Easter, Pentecost, Feast of Corpus Christi, Christmas Eve, and Saint Stephen's Day (High Patron of the Church - Dec 26th); state funerals, and at the beginning of the New Year, when it is broadcast on ORF, followed by The Blue Danube Waltz. At New Year's in the city it is hard to hear the bells due to the noise from the fireworks. On All Souls' Day (2 November) it rings to commemorate the fallen in World War II. On the 23rd of April it rings to celebrate the consecration of St. Stephens. The bell has almost never rung with the peal of 11 bells in the South tower. Full peal can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c151mIKhXGE To minimize excess vibrations of the supporting structure, since 2003 the bell's electrical swinging mechanism has been carefully controlled by a computer. An elevator takes visitors up the to the bell.

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Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1338549482 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.