Bell noise at midnight: Technical defect discovered in Weingarten!

Bell noise at midnight: Technical defect discovered in Weingarten!

In the night of April 23, 2025, the bells of the Holy Spirit Church in Weingarten heralded over an hour, starting around 11:30 p.m. This caused a sensation in the community, as the residents were amazed and speculated in the Facebook group "Weingarten Live" about the reason for the unexpected and long bell ringing. Some suspected that the death of Pope Francis could be related. However, the police received no complaints about the noise.

Dean Ekkehard Schmid commented on the incident and explained that the cause was a technical defect in the ringing plant. The programmed wage period has been temporarily switched off and the wilding work is now being repaired. Interestingly, about two years ago there was a similar incident with the bell of the chapel at the Kreuzbergfriedhof in Weingarten. At that time, parish council Markus Göttner regularly had to change the safety switch because the bell rang uncontrollably after she had reacted to foreign remote controls. A special company finally restored the frequency of origin of the ringing plant, which caused the problem.

bell ringing - tradition and technology

In Weingarten, the bells of the basilica are usually ringed in hand since the automatic ringing plant failed and has to be replaced. The 16-year-old Johannes Paul Weiss, son of the mesmer, and his helpers regularly pull on the bell ropes to take over the ringing before and during the services. The largest of the eleven bells in the basilica weighs impressive four tons. The larger bells are usually used on Sundays and public holidays to ring adequately.

The mechanical clockwork of the basilica, which rings every 15 minutes, was also defective, but Johannes Paul and his friend Noah were able to repair it. The new electronic system for the ringing of the bell is said to be in use at the latest at Christmas. Johannes Paul expressed mixed feelings regarding the return to the automatic system. While he is relieved not to have to get up early, he also found joy to ring the bells by hand.

the meaning of the bell ringing

bells have been part of humanity for about 5000 years and have been proven to have been used as a church instrument since the 5th to 6th centuries. They symbolize the proclamation of the Christian message and the claim to Jesus Christ. The origins of the bells lead back to China, where sound stones and singing bowls were used. Today bells have many meanings: they are musical instruments, acoustic symbols for preaching, call to prayer and can also show how much clock it is.

bells structure the day in monk communities and accompany the life of Christians. Your noteworthy sound has a central role in the service. In addition, the ringing is used for various occasions and in the church year. Sacral bell ringing is under legal protection in Germany, whereby the churches determine how and when the ringing of self -determination is determined. This usually happens in accordance with defined ringing regulations that leave space for regional peculiarities.

For the municipality of Weingarten, the nightly bell ringing was not only a technical problem, but also reminds of how deeply the ringing is rooted in culture and religion. It remains to be seen when the automated system will be available again and whether Johannes Paul can continue to contribute his love for technology when caring for the bells.