Figurative carillon
History of the carillon
The old carillon was destroyed during the Second World War. In 1997, the idea was born to recreate a figurative carillon above the Renaissance portal of the Old Town Hall with the half-figures of Judith and Lucretia. The carillon with 25 bells was inaugurated in 2001 on the initiative of the Figural Carillon in the Old Town Hall Tower of Chemnitz Association, which was founded in 1998 with the support of numerous sponsors and supporters. Since then, the newly designed carillon has been ringing out over Chemnitz market square.
One year later, in October 2002, the construction of the figure-playing installation was completed. Since then, six bronze figures have completed and accompanied the carillon.
Playing times
The figures (Benedictine monk, tower keeper, spinner, merchant, foundryman and rubble woman) rotate daily at 11am, 4pm and 7pm to the melody of the bells.
The repertoire of the carillon in the tower of the Old Chemnitz Town Hall is always changed to coincide with the calendar change of the season and also during the Christmas period. The regular changeover of the carillon repertoire is carried out by a company commissioned by the city. In total, over 60 song sequences in the groups of spring, summer, autumn, Christmas and winter songs are stored in the microelectronic control system for the carillon. These song sequences include well-known melodies such as "Freude schöner Götterfunken" (the European anthem), "Nun will der Lenz uns grüßenlen", "Am Brunnen vor dem Tore", "Bunt sind schon die Wälder" and "Oh du fröhliche".
By the way
The figures on the carillon in the Old Town Hall symbolise stages in Chemnitz's history. They were created by sculptor Johannes Schulze from Plauen. The figures were cast by the Lauchhammer art foundry. In June 2004, the Figural Carillon was donated to the City of Chemnitz following a decision by Chemnitz City Council.