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December 5th, 2008
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Three new bells on Old Town Square

Additions to Tyn Church to chime for the first time at Easter celebrations

By Ondřej Bouda
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
February 27th, 2008 issue

JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
The interior of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn
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JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
Of the new bells, the largest is called Archangel Michael, which weighs 2,500 kilos.
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JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
Of the new bells, the largest is called The storied trio will be housed in the north tower of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn.
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JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
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JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
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On Tuesday, Feb. 19, anyone walking through the center of Prague might have seen an unusual sight — church bells were flying over Old Town Square. That afternoon, for the first time in more than a decade, new bells were installed in the north tower of the Church of Our Lady before Týn.
The church’s two main towers were originally built to house a total of six bells (five in the north tower and one in the south). Most of the original medieval bells were melted during World War II by Germans to provide metal for the war effort. For years afterward the church had only one bell, called Marie, left in its south tower. It is the second oldest bell in Prague, made in 1553 and weighing 6,500 kilograms (7.2 short tons). A new bell was later installed in the north tower in 1989.
Of the three new bells added to the north tower last week, the one called Archangel Michael is the largest. It weighs 2,500 kilograms, costs more than 1 million Kč ($58,072) and took a manufacturer in Brodek u Přerova a year and a half to make, according to Štěpán Filipec, assistant of the parish.
The creation of such a bell is a long and difficult process and the slightest mistake could render the resulting product useless. Archangel Michael had to be melted down the first time it was made because it was slightly off-key. Tuning the bell is more difficult when it is more ornate, and Archangel Michael is covered with bas-reliefs. One depicts the second coming of Christ from the Book of Revelation. Another shows Archangel Michael trampling Satan. There are also two coats of arms belonging to the city of Prague and the canonry in Stará Boleslav.
“We chose Archangel Michael because he is the protector of Eden as well as peace. We ask him to bless this city and protect it from further wars,” Filipec said.
The two smaller bells installed last week are named after important Czech saints. St. John of Nepomuk and St. Ludmila each weigh around 500 kilgrams.
The three new bells will take several weeks to set in place and tune, and should sound for the first time during the Easter Mass.
Right now, the church does not have the money for the sixth bell the towers were built to hold. “People no longer wish to have their name immortalized by donating to churches. There are no rich benefactors here or abroad,” Filipec said. “Even the city council has refused to help us financially in any way despite the fact that they wish to present Prague as a city full of culture and history. All our funds come from small donors of the parish. For the last bell we’d need another 1 million or 2 million Kč.”
History of change
Of course, the bells aren’t the only part of the centuries-old church in need of attention.
“To finish the ongoing reconstruction of the church, we’re looking at tens of millions of crowns,” said Filipec, referring to projects such as restoring frescoes and building a new roof. Finding such funding has never been easy, and has throughout the church’s history required some creativity. When the church was first built in the Middle Ages (archaeologists have dated its foundations to 1135), wood for the ceilings was procured in an unusual way. A wedding was scheduled on Old Town Square, and preparations included a dais for the king and queen. The king died before the ceremony, church officials quickly took the wood from the unused dais for the construction.
As the church grew to keep pace with the busy trading community nearby, several reconstructions throughout the 13th and 14th centuries enlarged the original structure. The present day Gothic basilica was started in 1355 and finished in 1511. The interior design dates to the early Baroque period. With the exception of a few Gothic artifacts, most of the altars were made after 1648 as a show of gratitude to God for ending the Thirty Years’ War.
The church has witnessed all the important events in Bohemian history, often suffering destruction and vandalism during the region’s most turbulent transitions. In 1415, Hussites took over the church and destroyed most of the interior and exterior Catholic decorations. “This was not such a problem,” Filipec said. “Prague was always a rich city and churches were being redecorated all the time according to the latest fashion. Our forefathers did not feel that religious relics should be kept for posterity; instead, they wanted a modern and beautiful church.”
The Hussites added their own decorations, which were in turn destroyed by Jesuits in the 17th century. The chalice that symbolized Hussite beliefs, positioned to look out over Old Town Square from the top of the church was melted and made into a halo for the statue of the Virgin Mary that took its place. Jesuits went so far as to dig up graves of Hussite preachers and burn the remains publicly on the square.
Nowadays, the church strives to be a symbol of unity in the face of the violent acts man has committed against his neighbor throughout history. Prominent citizens of all denominations lie peacefully interred side by side. There’s a grave belonging to a Jewish boy named Šimon Abeles who was brutally tortured and murdered by his father for wanting to convert to Christianity. The boy was buried in 1694 as a martyr with royal court members in attendance.
“We hope future generations will look at the church, see what went on here and learn from past mistakes,” Filipec said. “Violence is not an option. The church has suffered many times in the past and it is our deepest wish to show people of different nations, religious beliefs or Christian denominations that we can all live together in peace and harmony.”

Ondřej Bouda can be reached at obouda@praguepost.com


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