Werden Abbey has been mentioned so often in the contributions of this channel that a short description of this probably most important church in the Ruhr area, the secret cathedral of the diocese of Essen, and its bells was long overdue. The vast majority of towns and communities in this area are first mentioned in documents in the abbey's A and B records. With this contribution, the author would like to thank all channel visitors and (new) subscribers for their loyalty, comments and likes and for all external support throughout the year. A merry, peaceful Christmas and God's blessing for the year 2025! The history and description of this highly significant abbey, whose foundation by the missionary Liudger was completed in 805 or 808 with the consecration of the church, would completely exceed the scope of this contribution. Liudger later became the first bishop of Münster, but was buried at his request in his own monastery in Werden, on a "Werder" above the Ruhr. The abbey church has been a parish church since 1803. Those seeking historical information should consult the literature. Bells are only mentioned late in the freely available sources. Nevertheless, in the biography of Liudger by Altfried, a relative, 863 bells are mentioned. FELDENS offers an initial list, quoting a document from 1894, which presumably shows the situation from the secularization of 1803 to 1854. Crossing tower: Petrus und Paulus f', 1674, 1220 mm, ~1050 kg Ludgerus as', 1658, 960 mm, ~550 kg Gregorius b', 1658, 880 mm, 425 kg Stephanus h', 1748, 790 mm, 250 kg Johannes Bapt. g'', 1748, 470 mm Laurentius 1674, 680 mm, 1854 recast by Rincker, Westhofen. Cracked. Petersturm: Petrusglocke as', 1674, 1060 mm, 650 kg Marienglocke as', 1694, 940 mm, 500 kg, 1854 recast, probably Rincker. Luciusglocke h', 1705, 800 mm, 300kg. Plus the two clock bells, see below. A clear division into abbey and parish bells. The Petersturm was stripped of its onion dome in the first renovation phase from 1846 and extended to its current form. The crossing tower was renovated by 1841, the sound openings in the gables were renewed and fitted with new blinds. Due to structural damage to the crossing tower, the ringing there was temporarily stopped in 1880. The bells were to be moved to the Petersturm in 1886. However, due to structural damage, the bells could not be rung there either. In the meantime, there were even suggestions to build two new bell towers in the west or a "campanile" in the northeast of the church. Around 1900, the bells rang in a bell house in front of the northwest portal. From 1901, the (current) 6 new bells were probably the subject of planning. However, ringing the bells by hand in the nave was considered disruptive, so 4 of the bells were to be housed in the Luciuskirche (600 m as the crow flies). All but 3 of the bells mentioned above were melted down for the new ringing in 1909, and the large Ludgerus bell was added as a donation from the parish. For static reasons, the bells were initially suspended on cranked yokes (Bierling/Köppke system), which is why the bells from the F. Otto foundry in Bremen-Hemelingen were unusually given plate crowns. The bells were probably suspended on straight yokes when bell 2 was recast after it was lost in World War II. It is also unclear whether the bell frame (including the substructure?) was renewed at this time. Overall, despite the loss of the historic bells, we can be happy that a well-mixed and rich peal can now be heard from St. Peter's Tower. In the recording, the d' hanging to the south pushes forward slightly; a sound recording from the north is almost impossible due to the busy road there. Ringing data (Hoffs/Schritt) / inscriptions (Feldens): Ludgerus c' -1, 1620 mm, 2800kg +OMNIA LUDGERUS DISPELLAT AB URBE PERICLA. + Peter and Paul d' =0, 1425 mm, 1950 kg +VOCE MEA PETRUM LAUDO PAULUMQUE PATRONOS. + Maria f' -2, 1200 mm, 1152 kg +ORA PRO NOBIS COELI REGINA MARIA + Lucius and Clemens g' +3, 1070 mm, 842 kg +LUCIUS ET CLEMENS NOS OMNES HIC TUEANTUR. + Stephanus a' -3, 960 mm, 576 kg +LEVITAE STEPHANO PRAESENS CAMPANA VOVETUR. + Nikolaus b' -2, 900 mm, 486 kg +nICoLao epIsCopo LaetI beneDICaMVs. + The year 1909 or 1954 and the foundry mark on the back of all bells. Hour bell ~c'', 760 mm On the neck: Audite, o cives, quam sit resolubile tempus: praeterit ista dies non reditura semel: vigilate ergo, quia nescitis diem neque horam. Wilhelmus Hartmann me fecit. 1574 On the flank: r: d: henricus duden Werthin : et : Helmst : abba · me · fieri fecit. Quarter bell ~f'', 560 mm Reverendus Ds Johannes de Groninga abbas hujus monasterii me fieri feci tao 1531 Photo: September 1st, 2024 (Pontifikalamt for the Ludgerus Festival). Thanks go to Florian for organizing the tower climb in 2022. Photo and source credits: see 1., marked comment.