Brasov strikes again

From Nine O'Clock:

Musica Coronensis Festival at Brasov

The bell of the tower from Piata Sfatului will toll again on Saturday, after over 50 years. The event is part of a music festival organized by the Evangelical Church from Romania, Brasov Parish and the Embassy of Germany in Bucharest.

published in issue 4539 page 12 at 2009-10-16

According to the director of Brasov History Museum, Radu Stefanescu, the ceremony of the “Forgotten Bell,” which dates from the year 1690, begins on Saturday, at 11.45 h., when five musicians of Brasov Philharmonic will play the role of the tower-men from the 17th century, who were playing the trumpet to call the population in the center of the city for various announcements.

At 12.00 h., the bell from the tower will toll 12 times, the first time after 50 years. Then, the tower-men will play three distinct scores specific for the three local communities: Romanian, Saxon and Magyar. The old bell from the tower from 1520 had been destroyed in the fire from 1689. The new bell, was made of 400 kg. of bronze and 400 kg. of copper in 1690 by the master Heinrich Lampe (Hildesheim/Braunschweig – Germany). It is shaped like a goblet and has 1.2 m. in diameter. By its side there are two hammers which used to be put in motion by the clock, every quarter of an hour and of course at the hour.

“The bell functioned until after WW II, when the communist vandalized the collections of the former Saxon Museum of Barsa County. The bell remained in the tower, but its connection with the clock was interrupted, because the authorities said that there were too many clocks which sounded in Piata Sfatului. We shall take the necessary steps in order to receive next year the funds required to repair the mechanism,” the director of the museum said on Tuesday, in a press conference.

The event is part of the festival Musica Coronensis, which is at the seventh

edition, taking place from Thursday until Sunday. Musica Coronensis Festival presents the music of the former Corona city for the benefit of the present day Brassov, previously known as Brasso or Kronstadt. The festival will include several cameral concerts that will be held in various places from the city: Bartolomeu Church, Brasov Military Club, Urban Civilization Museum or the Hall of the Evangelic Community.

The festival ends at the Black Church with a special organ concert, where the audience will have the possibility to watch projections of the Buchholz organ. The price of the tickets at the concerts varies between RON 5 and 15; on Friday and Saturday access is free.

by Raluca Patru