One of the most extensive chimes in Germany, with 16 bells, rings out from the towers of Nuremberg's Lorenz Church. During the Second World War, the church was spared any bell sacrifices. However, this meant that not only were the 1865 clock bells in the north tower's helmet damaged, but a large piece of the mantle of one of the heaviest bells in the chime to date, the Feyer bell in the north tower, was torn off by a grenade hit in the last days of the war. Since 1933, St. Lorenz has been the site of the inauguration of the then newly created office of regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, and the church also wanted to keep up with other major churches, so the chimes were to be expanded extensively from 1953. The disposition was designed by the regional church's organ and bell expert at the time, Pastor Johannes Gustav Mehl, who recommended Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling in Heidelberg as the foundryman. Mehl wanted to include the most valuable historical bells in the tones d', e' and gis' from the point of view of the time. The ringing was to be completed at the bottom by the new casting of two large bells in e° and h°, and at the top by a so-called cymbal ring (a'', h'', cis'', e''', fis'''), which would also be the first to integrate the silver bell (d''') in the gable tower into the plenum. The Feyer bell with the tone e'+0.5 was initially to be melted down, since the Laurentia was already an e'-3 bell with a more pleasing sound. After Mehl had recognized its true age (ca. 1320/30) (previously it had been dated to 1505 based on a yoke inscription), the Feyer bell was at least welded. It is probably the oldest surviving bell of the Nuremberg bell-founding dynasty, cast by Hermann I. Kessler. The old silver bell is considered to be the work of Hermann II. Kessler around 1400. The larger new bells of the main chime in the pitch sequence h°, fis' and a' were cast in July 1953, followed in August by the smaller ones in h', d'', e'' and fis''. They were housed in the additional bell cages (1437, d) of the north and south towers. In October 1954, Schilling cast the cymbal bells, which were housed in the former tower keeper's room in the octagon of the north tower. At the inauguration of the new regional bishop Hermann Dietzfelbinger on May 8, 1955, the complete plenum, except for the e° bell, rang for the first time. This lowest-pitched bell should have been named Hosanna. Their purchase was lost sight of in the 1960s. There were too many concerns that the instrument, which weighed a good 10 tonnes and was supposed to hang in the north tower under the large bell chamber, would cause structural damage. Almost all of the medieval bells, with the exception of the Feyer bell, were included in the new inventory. Only the historic silver bell was not to our liking for its sound and was replaced by a new cast Schillings bell, which the master had replaced again in 1960 at his own request, just as he had his Benedictus bell (cis''') in the summer of 1955. In 2002 the most serious intervention in the ringing to date took place when the larger bells were fitted with counterweight clappers and upper weights, citing the tower's statics. The ringing angles were also reduced in some cases significantly. In accordance with the ringing order, the plenum of all 16 bells can only be heard on the most important holidays of the church year. MAIN CHIMES IN SOUTH AND NORTH TOWERS I. Christ, tone: h°-4 4407 kg, 1815 mm, FWS (1953) II. Tagmess, tone: d'-1 2006 kg, 1490 mm, Hans III. Glockengießer (1552) III. Laurentia, tone: e'-1 2600 kg, 1608 mm, Hainrich Grunwalt (1409) IV. Totengedenk, tone: fis'±0 1153 kg, 1180 mm, FWS (1953) V. Garaus, tone: gis'+2 700 kg, 1040 mm, ubz. Hermann II. Kessler (around 1400) VI. Paulus, tone: a'-1 668 kg, 988 mm, FWS (1953) VII. Luther, tone: h'+1 480 kg, 885 mm, FWS (1953) VIII. Osiander, tone: d''±0 377 kg, 802 mm, FWS (1953) IV. Lazarus-Spengler, tone: e''-1 253 kg, 705 mm, F WS (1953) Laudate, Ton: a''+4 90 kg, 505 mm, FWS (1954) XII. Magnificat, tone: b''+5 64 kg, 454 mm, FWS (1954) XIII. Benedictus, tone: cis'''+5 39 kg, 410 mm, FWS (1955) XIV. Nunc Dimittis, tone: e'''+5 35 kg, 355 mm, FWS (1954) XV. Adorate, tone: fis'''+4 28 kg, 325 mm, FWS (1954) GABLE TOWER XVI. Silver bell, tone: d'''+6 39 kg, 389 mm, FWS (1960) IN THE CHURCH XVII. Silver bell (alto), tone: d'''+6 (hall choir) 30 kg, 375 mm, circa Hermann II. Kessler (around 1400) XVIII. Feyer bell, tone: e'+0.5 (turned off, cannot be rung) 2637 kg, 1504 mm, Hermann I. Kessler (around 1320/30) Many thanks to the parish of St. Lorenz, especially Uwe Hofmann and Sister Herta Maurer, for making this possible and to Marco for supporting the recording! Sound &