When the bell was cast in 1923, the bell-founder refused to take
German marks as a payment because of
the hyper-inflation. Instead the Cathedral Chapter paid 5,000
US dollars. The predecessor of the bell was the "Emperor's Bell" (orig. German:
Kaiserglocke) or
Gloriosa ("Glorious") of 1873 which at was even heavier than the St. Peter's bell. In 1918 it was melted down, because of the poor sound quality and the inadequate tone. Its metal was used for war purposes. During its thirty-year life it had regularly been put out of service to attempt to fix the inappropriate sound. Because of this the bell was nicknamed
Große Schweigerin, or "big silence".
History Detail Source:
Spring 1918 The Cologne Metropolitan Chapter melted down the Kaiserglocke in Cologne Cathedral as a war sacrifice, receiving no state compensation. Domkapellmeister Prof. Dr. Karl Hubert Cohen subsequently contacted the Glockengießerei Gebr. Ulrich foundry in Apolda in advance to prepare for future recasting.
Early January 1922 Banker Heinrich von Stein and Christian Eckert jointly planned the bell's recasting, preparing to submit a request to the Reich Government for bell metal.
January 7, 1922 Stein mailed Eckert a list of intended signatories for the petition, along with a draft proposal.
January 10, 1922 The invitation card was printed, calling on citizens to sign a petition to the Reich Chancellor requesting metal for casting a new German bell to replace the imperial bell lost during the war.
January 15–21, 1922 The petition (Eingabe) was displayed at Kölner Margaretenkloster 3 for citizens to sign in support. Ultimately, signatures from 68 prominent figures were collected.
March 13, 1922 A meeting at Bankhaus Stein confirmed funding for the bell metal (approximately 1.2 million Mark) and 2000kg of material. Glockengießerei Gebr. Ulrich in Apolda was formally commissioned for casting.
May 5, 1923 The Petersglocke was successfully cast in Apolda under the supervision of Master Heinrich Ulrich.
October 15, 1924 Dompropst Middendorf dispatched representatives to notify Christian Eckert of a meeting to discuss the transportation of the Petersglocke.
October 20, 1924 A meeting convened in the Kapitelssaal arranged specific measures for transporting the Petersglocke from Apolda back to Cologne.
November 30, 1924 The Petersglocke was formally consecrated at Cologne Cathedral, becoming the new main bell. Its inscription records funding from the German Reich, the Prussian State, and the citizens of Cologne.
February 1, 1926, at midnight The Petersglocke rang out, announcing the liberation of the Cologne occupation zone, thus acquiring commemorative significance.
1951 In 1951, a long crack appeared on the bell. It was
welded in 1956 by the company
Lachenmeyer from
Nördlingen. After repairs, the bell received a new, lighter clapper (approx. ), and it was rotated approximately 20 degrees so that the clapper did not strike the damaged area.
January 6 2011 On 6 January 2011, the clapper broke and dropped on the floor below. The four earthquake sensors in the cathedral registered it. As it could not be repaired, a new one was cast and was installed in December of the same year. It was later discovered that the accident happened because the clapper had not been correctly installed in the 1950s, thus increasing wear, which consequently led to material degradation. The new clapper weighs approx. and is long. It was installed on 2 December 2011, and was first rung on 7 December 2011. The workers installed two new electric ringing engines (500 rpm), which harmonized with the new clapper. The old engines worked with 750 rpm. In 2016, it was discovered that uneven striking of the clapper meant that the "Dicke Pitter" was no longer emitting its customary sound. The
Cologne University of Applied Sciences and the cathedral construction authority developed a new mount. In addition, a new corrosion protection product was developed by
Dörken MKS-Systeme.
May 5 2023 The most famous instrument of the Cologne Cathedral bells is the Petersglocke, which celebrates its 100th birthday on this day and in whose honor this concert is being held. Analogous to the expression “Symphony of the Aachen Cathedral Bells” coined by Jakob Schaeben (music director and bell expert of the dioceses of Cologne, Aachen and Essen), one could also speak of the “Symphony of the Cologne Cathedral Bells.” Today's bell concert is inspired by this as a symphony in six movements, each of which relates to the history of Cologne Cathedral or presents individual combinations from the ringing order throughout the church year, before all twelve cathedral bells ring together in the finale, bringing the symphony to a grand conclusion. == Ringing times ==