Sigismund Bell

Lokalizacja

Adres: Kraków

Szczegóły

Utworzono: 8 lipca 2011

Ostatnia aktualizacja: 2022-11-28

Kategorie: Punkt orientacyjny i miejsce historyczne

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Opis

The Royal Sigismund Bell is the largest of the five bells hanging in the Sigismund Tower of the Wawel Cathedral in the Polish city of Kraków. It was cast in 1520 by Hans Behem and named after King Sigismund I of Poland, who commissioned it. The bell weighs almost 13 tonnes and requires 12 bell-ringers to swing it. It tolls on special occasions, mostly religious and national holidays, and is regarded as one of Poland's national symbols.DescriptionThe body of the Sigismund Bell is cast in bronze and weighs 9,650 kg. Its diameter at the lip is 242 cm and its height is 241 cm. The wall of the body is from 7 to 21 cm thick. The crown of the bell is attached to a yoke made of oak wood and measuring 308 cm in length and 219 cm in height. Within the bell, suspended on a leather belt of up to 12 layers, attached to an iron supporting structure, is a Gothic clapper, weighing – together with the belt – 365 kg.The body of the bell is decorated with inscriptions and images. Around the upper part of the waist runs a majuscule Renaissance Latin inscription indicating the bell's donor and dedicating it to God:The inscription translates as follows: "To the greatest and best God, and to the Virgin Mother of God, the illustrious King Sigismund of Poland had this bell cast to be worthy of the greatness of his mind and deeds in the year of salvation 1520." Below the inscription there are two portal-shaped plaques with images of saints. The one below the date "MDXX" (1520 in Roman numerals) is a likeness of Saint Sigismund, patron saint of the bell and of the king who commissioned it, dressed in royal vestments and insignia as a king of Burgundy.