Salzburg Cathedral’s seven bells weigh 32 tonnes

Salzburg Cathedral’s seven bells together weigh 32 tonnes, ORF reported. Named after important Salzburg saints including Rupert and Virgil, the bells are rung according to a schedule that specifies which ones are used on weekdays, Sundays and religious holidays.

All seven bells ring together only on major religious feast days. The largest, the Salvator Bell, weighs more than 14 tonnes and hangs in the north tower. The other six are installed in the south tower.

“On the major religious holidays, our largest bell, the Salvator Bell, naturally rings,” said Dietmar Koisser, the cathedral’s sacristy director. All seven bells ring on Christmas Day, while one fewer is used on St Stephen’s Day.

The bells are made from specially tuned bell bronze. Two date from the 17th century, when a large Baroque peal was acquired to equip the cathedral after a fire. The Frauen Bell and Virgil Bell are the only surviving bells from that earlier set. All the others were cast by a Salzburg foundry, said Josef Kral, the Archdiocese of Salzburg’s bell officer.

Kral is responsible for maintenance and renovation work involving the bells and their mechanisms. When work is needed in a tower, he said, the parish and contractors seek solutions that should ideally keep the parish satisfied for another 300 years.

The bells have also been used for secular occasions, including performances of “Jedermann” during the Salzburg Festival. The large cathedral bell rings once when the character’s deadline of death begins and again when it expires.

The cathedral’s old mechanical clock has been replaced by an electric one, except when it strikes 13. That unusual strike is still made by hand.

The 32-tonne peal ranks among the world’s largest and attracts bell enthusiasts to the cathedral square. Some bring recording equipment and become excited when all seven bells ring together.