In the last two years, a cherished tradition could only be maintained online, but this year it sounds live again: the Great City Ringing before the 1st Advent. Now you can listen to the concert of the bells of the city center churches at the Christmas market, in front of the cathedral and at other places. These ring in the Advent season on Saturday, November 26, and offer from 16.30 to 17 clock a unique sound experience.
Four times a year the bell concert sounds: on the Saturday before the 1st Advent, on Christmas Eve and on the Saturdays before Easter and Pentecost. Meanwhile, as a supplement or alternative, there is an online version that can be listened to at home on the computer or on the cell phone. A corresponding audio file will be available at the weekend on the website of the city of Frankfurt am Main at frankfurt.de/frankfurt-entdecken-und-erleben/stadtportrait/typisch-frankfurt/das-grosse-stadtgelaeute-von-frankfurt-am-main.
"The Great City Bell is something extraordinary. For many Frankfurter:innen it is a fixed appointment, especially now in the pre-Christmas period to walk through the city center, pause and listen to the unique sound sequence. For many, the bell concert offers a shared experience as well as a sign of hope and confidence, even in difficult times," says City Treasurer Bastian Bergerhoff, the department head responsible for the dotation churches. "I am very pleased that it is again possible to listen to the 50 bells on site. But those who shy away from the way to the center can listen online - this offer is also only available on the traditional dates of the city ringing. So it remains something very special."
The bell concert has a long tradition: the first ringing of all Frankfurt bells is documented as early as 1347, for the funeral of Emperor Ludwig IV. The bells of Frankfurt's churches were also rung on occasions such as the election of kings and emperors or Goethe's 100th birthday. In 1856, the Senate of the Free City of Frankfurt decided to ring the bells at Christmas, Easter and Whitsun. However, behind today's "Great City Ringing" is a coordination of the tonal disposition of all the churches involved. Each of the participating churches has an independent, very different peal of bells, which blends in harmoniously. The composition of the worldwide unique half-hour concert goes back to the Mainz bell expert Prof. Paul Smets, who compiled the sound pattern in 1954.
Ten churches with a total of 50 bells sound in a fixed sequence and are perfectly matched to each other. The start is made by the civic bell of St. Paul's Church. It is followed by the other five bells of St. Paul's Church. This is followed by the four bells of St. Catherine's Church on the Hauptwache, and then the five bells of the Church of Our Lady. North of the Liebfrauenkirche, the four bells of the Peterskirche and the three bells of the Dominikanerkloster, the easternmost point of the Großes Stadtgeläute, ring out. They are joined by the six bells of the Leonhard Church on the Main and the four bells of the Carmelite Monastery. The four bells of the Alte Nikolaikirche on the Römerberg complete the sound picture, before the Dreikönigskirche, located on the other side of the Main, joins in the city ringing with its five bells. The climax is reached by the nine bells of the Kaiserdom, including the Gloriosa, Frankfurt's most famous bell. At 11,950 kilograms, it is the heaviest of the bells in Frankfurt's inner city churches and the second heaviest bronze bell in Germany. In total, the 50 bells of the ten inner city churches together weigh 64,804 kilograms.
The most popular locations are the Hauptwache, Liebfrauenberg, Paulsplatz, Römerberg and Eiserne Steg. However, there is no special place to best hear the Great City Ringing: to actively experience it, a short walk through the city center is a good idea.
