What are the secrets of the 5 most amazing giant bells from around the world?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Bells in all cultures were revered as special, sometimes even magical devices. They informed people about happy and sad events, warned of danger and gathered for the holidays. Today in the world you can count several dozen giant bells, some of them also keep amazing stories.

Sigmund (Poland)

The bell, named after the Polish king Sigismund I, was created in 1520 in Krakow and is still one of the national symbols of Poland. How many legends are associated with the casting of the bell. For example, in previous centuries, everyone was sure that it was made from melted guns - either Moldovan or Russian. Modern historians refute this theory, referring to the dates of the famous battles, but here's another version is more difficult to verify. According to a widespread legend, a court poet threw a string from his lute into molten metal (a mixture of copper and tin). She endowed the bell with a wonderful, pure voice, which is able not only to call people to meetings, but also disperses the clouds - both in heaven and in the soul. In addition, a sonorous giant can fulfill a person's desire if you make it right. To do this, you need to touch Sigmund's tongue with your left hand, and put your right hand to your heart.

Dhammadezi (Myanmar)

Unfortunately, this bell was lost several centuries ago, but the memory of it lives on among the people of Myanmar. It was cast in 1484 by order of King Dhammazedi as a gift for the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. An entertaining legend is associated with its creation. It is believed that the king once decided to conduct a census of his subjects, but overly zealous officials not only enumerated all the inhabitants of the medieval country, but also collected additional taxes from them. The king was so angry when he learned of the unauthorized extortion that the officials offered to use the collected money to cast a huge bell as a gift to the city. It is possible that the giant was made directly from dishonestly collected coins, since, in addition to copper and tin, according to contemporaries, it included gold and silver. In addition, the bell was adorned with rich inlay of emeralds and sapphires. If you believe the old descriptions, the dimensions of twelve cubits high (about 6 m) and eight cubits wide (about 3.6 m) make this bell the largest ever created by people in the world. Its weight was almost 300 tons.

In 1608, the Portuguese came to power in the country. Mercenary adventurer Felipe de Brito, who was in charge on behalf of the Viceroy of Portuguese India, planned to take away the bell and melt it down. With enormous problems, the giant bell was removed, rolled to the river (with the help of elephants) and loaded onto a raft. As conceived by homebrew engineers, the raft was supposed to transport the flagship de Brito. However, the log structure simply collapsed, the bell sank and dragged the flagship to the bottom with it. It happened at the confluence of the Pagu and Yangon rivers, and until the end of the 19th century in clear water, supposedly, in clear weather, it was possible to see the Dhammadezi lying at the bottom. Today, according to researchers, the bell is covered with a 7-meter layer of silt and it is very difficult to find it because of this. Attempts to find him have been made many times, but, unfortunately, have not yet been crowned with success. Despite the fact that this relic is lost, the people of Myanmar consider the Great Bell to be a national treasure.

Tsar Bell (Moscow)

Unfortunately, the monument to Russian foundry art of the 18th century never sounded. Interestingly, he had two predecessors, which also crashed: The first, Godunovsky, cast in 1599, served for almost 50 years, but split during a fire in Moscow. In 1654, according to the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, another giant was cast, surpassing the first by almost four times (130 tons instead of 33, 6), and this was done by Russian craftsmen in just a year. True, after a year of service, he cracked, but, overfilled by the master Grigoriev, then he called regularly. He repeated the fate of the first bell - after half a century it broke in a fire.

In 1730, Empress Anna Ioannovna ordered to re-cast the broken bell of Grigoriev. Failures haunted its creators from the very beginning. Technical malfunctions when working with molten metal, fires, death of the chief caster … However, the casting was completed. Trouble happened to the bell already during the application of decorative ornaments and inscriptions. Again a fire in Moscow, the bell fell from special walkways, gave 10 longitudinal through cracks, and a piece weighing 11.5 tons broke off from it. Although several versions are still being considered. It is possible that mistakes were made during the casting, which were then attributed to the fire.

Mingun (Myanmar)

Despite the lost bell, Myanmar was still the world bell leader for several centuries. In 1808-1810, by order of the Burmese king Bodopaya, a bell was cast here, which until January 1, 2000 was the largest in the world. The lower diameter of the Mingong bell is about 5 meters, the height is 3.5 meters, (together with the suspension loop, 7 meters). The giant's mass is over 90 tons or, in traditional Burmese units, 55,555 visses. The sacred number five, by the way, was constantly repeated during the making of the record holder: the lower diameter, five metals included in the alloy (gold, silver, copper, iron, lead) and five symbols similar to fives that adorn the surface of the bell.

Bell of Happiness (China)

The eight-meter giant weighing 116 tons was cast in honor of the new millennium in the Chinese city of Pingdingshan, Henan province. Oddly enough, this unique bell is not as famous today as its older counterparts, but undoubtedly it can be considered the largest and heaviest in the world in operation. They call him with the help of a separately hanging "log", and the booming sound is carried for many kilometers.

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