For this year's Christmas, the bells of the Protestant city church of St. Peter and Paul (St. Peter's Church) in Görlitz are being presented on this channel. 0:00 - Presentation of the church with exterior shot of the plenary session 3:46 - Georgen Chapel (crypt) 4:22 - Ascent and roof truss 5:21 - Plaster casts of the destroyed bells with the ringing of the prayer bell 6:33 - Bell chambers of the south tower 8:00 - View over Görlitz; exterior shot of the plenary session 8:35 - Bell chambers 9:50 - Presentation of the individual bells 10:00 - Clothmaker's bell 11:52 - St. Paul's bell 13:53 - St. Peter's bell 14:45 - Prayer bell 18:41 - Full ringing The city church of St. Peter and Paul (or, to put it simply, St. Peter's Church) towers over the Neisse and is visible from far away. The city of Görlitz was first mentioned in a document in 1071. Around 1130, a castle complex was built on the Neisse. St. Peter's Church probably developed from a castle chapel and became the main church of the emerging trading city during the Middle Ages. In the early 13th century, a three-aisled basilica with two octagonal towers was built. The western part has been preserved to this day. As the church became too small for the rapidly growing city, extensive reconstruction began in the 15th century. From 1423, an additional nave was added to the south and north sides. From 1461 to 1480, the new, mighty hall choir was built, and at the same time the four-aisled Georgen Chapel was built as a lower church. From 1490, the upper church was vaulted under the direction of Konrad Pflüger. On August 14, 1497, the hall church, which now had five naves, was consecrated in the late Gothic style. At 72 m long, 39 m wide and 24 m high, it is the largest church in the surrounding area. The town fire of 1691 destroyed the church almost completely. The entire interior was lost. By 1715 the church had been renovated and given new baroque furnishings. As Görlitz developed into a major city, the main church was also to follow the example of famous cathedrals. The 84 m high neo-Gothic towers made of concrete, as we know them today, were built between 1889 and 1891. After the town fire, the church was given baroque furnishings. The first thing to be rebuilt was the sandstone pulpit in 1693. In 1695 the high altar was built by the Dresden sculptor George Heermann. The large main painting shows the Ascension of Christ. The council pews under the organ loft also date from 1695. The baptismal chapel is surrounded by a grille made in 1617. The baptismal font itself originally came from the church in Merzdorf, which was sacrificed to open-cast mining. The most famous piece of equipment in the church is the sun organ. It was created in 1697 by Eugenio Casperini. The magnificent facade was created by Johann Conrad Buchau. After the instrument was no longer playable, a new sun organ with 88 registers from four manuals and pedal was built between 1997 and 2006 by the Mathis Orgelbau AG company. Information on the history of the bells can be found in the pinned comment because of the famous 5000 characters! The bells: Motif: fis°(-cis')-e'-fis' (independent) All data on the bells are given in the video! A new casting of the Great Bell by Brors, based on the plaster cast, and other bells is currently being considered. Therefore, the large iron bell, the St. Peter's Bell, will no longer be ringable. Both iron hard bells are to be decommissioned as part of an extension. I would therefore like to mention at this point that we are currently looking for motivated supporters for such a bell project. Anyone who is interested can get in touch at the following address: [email protected] About the recording: • The outdoor recording of the plenary session was taken on October 20, 2024 at 9:47 a.m. to ring the bell for the start of the service. • The recording of the solo ringing of the prayer bell was taken on Good Friday 2024 at 2:55 p.m. • All other recordings were made during separate appointments on May 31, 2024 and June 10, 2024. First of all, a huge thank you goes to the sexton, Mr. Kranich, for kindly allowing the recording and for his trust. I would also like to thank Pastor Dr. Paul for approving the recording and publication, and the staff of the Open Church for their support with the switching. Of course, thanks also go to Angelo for accompanying and supporting us in the bell chambers and for allowing me to use his material. It was a great pleasure! Sources: • Pictures and videos by A. Noatsch marked with "AN" in the video, the rest are my own recordings • Book "Görlitz Bell Landscape in the Past and Present" by Michael Gürlach, pp. 39-63 • "The Bells of Upper Lusatia" by Edmund Brückner in the Niederlausitzer Magazin 1906, pp. 69-73 (author of the file: H. Kairies) • Brochure about the church • https://www.alles-lausitz.de/ein-vert...