With this video I wish all bell lovers a happy Reformation Day and a wonderful All Saints Day tomorrow! * The bells of the Protestant St. George's Church in Schönau-Berzdorf ad Eigen near Görlitz are being presented today on Reformation Day. The church in Schönau was first mentioned in documents in 1296 and is therefore one of the oldest places of worship in the region. It is dedicated to St. George, the patron saint of farmers and miners. The church was destroyed by the Hussite invasion in 1429/1431. Reconstruction took several decades. In 1611 a new pulpit was made. In 1737 the old small turret was replaced with a large one in the middle of the roof. In 1833 a storm severely damaged it. In 1880 a flood of the Pließnitz, which flows directly past the church, caused severe internal damage to the church. As a result, the entire interior was replaced with a neo-Gothic one. The church was re-consecrated in 1882. In 1883 the current organ was installed by the organ builder Schuster from Zittau. In 1972 the roof turret was badly damaged by a fire. In 1977-79 the church was renovated externally. In 2020 the roof was renovated. In the entrance area today stands the old weather vane of the church in Berzdorf, which unfortunately had to make way for the Berzdorf open-cast mine in 1969. In memory of the disappeared village, Schönau has since then borne the double name Schönau-Berzdorf. Today's Berzdorf Lake was created from the remaining hole of the open-cast mine after it was abandoned. After the church was destroyed during the Hussite Wars, it received three new bells in 1463. This ringing lasted until 1833. After a storm had damaged the tower and the bells (possibly) also suffered damage, the community was persuaded by the Gruhl bell foundry in Kleinwelka to have a new ringing made "from a single cast". In 1837, the three bells were recast, tuned to E flat major. Unfortunately, this meant that three extremely valuable medieval bells were irretrievably destroyed. During the First World War, the two smaller ones had to be given away and melted down. The large bell remained. In 1921, Schilling & Lattermann cast two new bells from chilled cast iron to replace the lost bells. During the Second World War, the large bell from 1837 was finally requisitioned, but was returned in 1948 along with several other bells from the region. This bell has an enormously extensive and beautiful bell decoration. The many decorative friezes, the eight-line inscriptions on both sides of the flanks and the Christ relief are distinctive features. To appreciate this masterly decoration, a detailed picture presentation is given at 8:44. In 1972, after the tower fire, the current steel bell frame was installed. At the same time, the fourth smallest bell was probably installed in the bell frame. This is the only bell from the church in Berzdorf that survived the war (see above). After the church was demolished, it was moved to the Schönau church. Since then, the bell has been in its current state. The cranked steel yokes also greatly affect the sound here. Unfortunately, all four bells in Schönau are never rung together. The main ringing is made up of the three large bells (heard in the outdoor shot), the Berzdorf bell is only used as a baptismal bell. The bells: Disposition: E flat'-G flat' (+)-B flat'-E flat'' (minor chord) The detailed description of the inscriptions and decoration can be found in the pinned comment! Bell 1 Bronze es' +13 1837 Friedrich Gruhl, Kleinwelka 930 kg 1 220 mm Bell 2 chilled cast iron ges' +10 1921 Schilling & Lattermann, Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz 900 kg 1 300 mm Bell 3 chilled cast iron b' +4 1921 Schilling & Lattermann, Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz 400 kg 1 000 mm Bell 4 Berzdorfer Bell Bronze es'' +3 1928 Geittner & Söhne, Breslau 164 kg 620 mm About the recording: The outdoor recording was taken on May 30, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. for the church service. The indoor recordings were taken on August 19, 2022 for a separate ringing. 0:00 – Photo series with external shot of bells 3-1 2:23 – Photos of bell 4 3:05 – Ringing of bell 4 4:24 – Photos of bell 3 4:58 – Ringing of bell 3 6:18 – Photos of bell 2 7:00 – Ringing of bell 2 8:44 – Photos of bell 1 10:04 – Ringing of bell 1 11:45 – Full ringing A big thank you goes to Pastor Hahn for the permission to record and to Mrs Weickelt for making it possible to climb the tower and ring the bell separately. Sources: own photos, own viewing Wikipedia article on the Schönau church Church flyer Book “Bells in Saxony” by Dr. Rainer Thümmel, p. 91, 355