Schwaz's town parish church, dedicated to St. Mary's Assumption, was built in the second half of the 15th century and is today one of the finest examples of Tyrolean Gothic architecture. The present four-manual organ, housed in a Baroque case from the second half of the 18th century, was built by Franz Reinisch in 1897, extended in 1909-10 and restored by Reinisch-Pirchner in 1959. The original bell tower, 34 m high and with four bells, one Gothic and three Baroque, has had structural problems since its construction and also has a slight slope to the north. In 1904, due to the discovery of some cracks in the tower, the bells were stopped and a competition was held to strengthen the tower. Despite some attempts and the construction of a new tower in 1906, this did not have the desired effect, and in 1910 construction began on a new bell tower a little further east, towards the former cemetery. The bell tower was completed in a year and a half, and the great bell was moved to the new tower; for the occasion Carlo Chiappani cast six bells to match the main bell, but these were confiscated a few years later for the First World War. The second bell, however, which remained on the old tower along with other smaller bells, was mounted on the new tower after the war. It was completed in 1959: Four more bells were added to the three already existing historic bells by the Bühl company from Bad Häring (curiosity: Kurt Bühl was not a born bell founder and his business only lasted from 1949 to 1970). The bell tower also houses a mini-museum dedicated to its construction and the bells, with an interesting 3D-printed reproduction of the Maria Maximilian, the largest concert bell and the largest Gothic bell in Austria.
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☛ Central spire:
Hour strike bell, e' - Peter Löffler (Innsbruck), 1510.
☛ Medieval bell tower:
Signal bell, ? kg10 - anonymous, 16th cent.
☛ Modern bell tower:
1st Maria Maximiliana bell, A° kg4508 - Peter Löffler (Innsbruck), 1503.
2nd Zwolferin bell/Knappen bell, Ci kg2200 - Franciscus Giot and Ioannes Reichart (Lorraine itinerant bell founders, cast on site), 1641;
3rd Sacred Heart bell, di kg1486 - Bühl brothers (Bad Häring), 1959;
4th Ave Maria bell, e' kg1070 - Bühl Brothers (Bad Häring), 1959;
5th Joseph bell, g' kg578 - Gebrüder Bühl (Bad Häring), 1959;
6th Angel-God-glocle, a' kg422 - Bühl Brothers (Bad Häring), 1959;
7th Kindsin, c'' kg242 - Johann Paul Schellener (Innsbruck), 1731;
8th death bell, g'' kg97 - Josef Grassmayr (Brixen), 1761.
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After the ringing of the 09:30 Mass we climbed the bell tower to hear the two big bells, then a short plenary. The final part of the video is the ringing of the noon angel with the third bell, with a series of images of Mary Maximilian. Many thanks to the parish priest for his willingness to ring the bells, albeit briefly, especially for our visit!
©Ermenegildo Guerra, 03/09/23
PROHIBITED USE: The multimedia material in this video is the intellectual property of the author.