For Easter, I am presenting the steel bells of the Protestant church of St. Ursula in Friedersdorf (near Görlitz), a district of the municipality of Markersdorf. Video sequence: 0:00 - photo series with outdoor shot 3:47 - bell 3 5:26 - bell 2 7:27 - bell 1 9:15 - full bells 13:55 - historical photos 14:35 - full bells Friedersdorf, located about 8 km west of Görlitz, was first mentioned in documents in 1286, although the town has certainly existed for longer. The long, drawn-out forest-strip village is picturesquely situated in the valley between Friedersdorf and Schwarzer Berg. The church in the town, which is also known as the "farmers' church", also dates back to the middle of the 13th century. While many regional nobles held the manorial power over the village for many years, from 1495 onwards it passed to the Görlitz council, which was also the patron of the church. After the church was extensively renovated and partially expanded around 1650, the church burned down completely in 1661 after being struck by lightning. During the reconstruction work, which was already largely completed in 1663, the church was given a stone west tower for the first time (previously only a ridge turret) and a new vault. In 1668, a new altar and a new pulpit were created by the Zittau master Bahns. The baptismal angel was donated in 1787. Particularly worthy of mention are the 37 gallery pictures (1:50) created in 1701 by an unknown master (probably someone from the village). Overall, the interior of the Friedersdorf church is impressive with its brilliant white and stucco decoration in combination with the magnificent baroque furnishings. Also worth mentioning are pastors Knauthe, Otto and Knothe, who all wrote down the village and church history in chronicles and thus recorded a lot for us as posterity. The exterior renovation of the church was completed in 2011/12 and the interior renovation in 2016, and since then it has once again appeared in brilliant white both inside and out. This and many other renovations and documentation work was and is accompanied by a very committed church building association, consisting of around 40 people, who lovingly look after the church. About the bells: The existing old bells were also lost in the fire in 1661. As early as 1662, Andreas Herold from Dresden cast three new bells (23, 13 and 5 hundredweight in weight). The large one was recast in 1665 and 1676. The latter recasting was carried out by the Görlitz foundry worker Abraham Sievert. During the First World War, Friedersdorf bells were also confiscated for the armaments industry. Based on the historical photo (see at 13:56) one can conclude that the two Herold bells were given away; the large Sievert bell was able to be preserved. Unfortunately this was also traded in and destroyed in the process of replacing a new bell. In 1921 the church received a new cast steel bell from the Bochum Association (14:16), which is still in use today in the bell tower from 1662. In 1989 the bell was electrified. The large bell calls the people of Friedersdorf to prayer three times a day. Also worth mentioning is the historical mechanical clockwork under the bell chamber (3:00), which has to be wound up once a week. The small bell strikes every half hour; the large bell announces the full hours. The bells: Motif: dis'-fis'-a' (diminished triad) Bell 1 / cast steel / dis' / 1921 / Bochum Association for Cast Steel Manufactures, Bochum / 1,200 kg / 1,430 mm Bell 2 / cast steel / fis' / 1921 / Bochum Association for Cast Steel Manufactures, Bochum / 850 kg / 1,260 mm Bell 3 / cast steel / a' / 1921 / Bochum Association for Cast Steel Manufactures, Bochum / 460 kg / 1,016 mm About the recording: • The exterior photos were taken on February 24, 2024. • The exterior recording of the ringing was made on December 17, 2023 at 10:25 a.m. for the church service. • The historical photos (1:56 p.m. and 2:16 p.m.) were kindly provided to me by Mr. Schubert. • All other photos were taken separately on February 16, 2024. A big thank you goes to the Schubert family for making my project possible and for supporting it so much! Sources: • Church flyer • Book “The gallery pictures of the Friedersdorf St. Ursula Church” by Ulrich Schubert • “The bells of Upper Lusatia” by Edmund Brückner in the Niederlausitzer Magazin 1906, p.63f. (Author of the file: H. Kairies)