Zdar nad Sazavou, South Moravia, Sept 18 (CTK) – Bells rang at the UNESCO-listed Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk on Zelena Hora for the first time after 75 years on Sunday, the church’s manager Lenka Houbova has told CTK.
During World War Two, the original bells were confiscated.
The three newly bells were cast by bell maker Petr Rudolf Manousek last year. They were named after Czech saints and blessed by Brno Bishop Vojtech Cikrle in May. However, the bells were installed only after the reinforcement of the main tower of the church and the chapel towers.
The smaller Vojtech (Adalbert) and Zdislava bells were put in the chapel towers in July. The Cyril and Methodius bell weighing 84 kilogrammes was installed in the main tower on August 31.
The smallest bell, Vojtech, will ring every morning at 08:00, the biggest Methodius always at noon, and the Zdislava bell at 18:00. All three bells together will ring at noon on Sundays and to announce the mass on Saturdays.
Priest Vladimir Vojtech Zalesky said about 500 people attended the ceremony on Sunday. “We wanted no sensation or no spectacle,” he said.
The Baroque pilgrimage church lost its bells several times during its history. Originally, the church had five bells, but after a fire in 1784 the chapel towers changed their shape and only three of the bells could be installed.
These bells were seized during World War One in order to be used for military purposes. New ones were cast in 1926, only to be seized in the next war again.
