The Zygmunt Bell: The Sound of Polish History
Considered a national symbol, the Zygmunt Bell in Kraków is definitely the most famous bell in Poland. For 500 years, it’s been marking the most important events in Polish history with its sonorous sound.
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The Zygmunt Bell at the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, photo: Jakub Włodek / AG
The Zygmunt Bell in Kraków, sometimes called the Sigismund Bell by English speakers, is a major cultural icon in Poland. Its status is similar to that of the Big Ben bell in England – basically everybody knows of its existence.
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It has become one of the most important national symbols. […] It’s fair to say that Zygmunt is the king of Polish bells and a ruler of Polish hearts. It’s an instrument that has continuously been playing time signs strictly linked to the history of not only the Polish nation, but also of Europe, for 500 years.
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From katedra-wawelska.pl, trans. MK
The Zygmunt Bell hangs in a tower in the historical Wawel Cathedral located next to Wawel Castle, a famous royal residence dating back to the 11th century, sometimes called ‘the heart of Poland’s statehood.’ It rang for the first time in the year 1521, so the year 2021 marks the 500th anniversary of its service!
The Zygmunt Bell was commissioned by Poland’s king Zygmunt I Stary (1467-1548), whom English readers may know as Sigismund I the Old. The exact motivation for having the bell made is unclear, perhaps the king wanted to create a votive object connected to the birth of his son, Zygmunt II Augustus, who came into this world in the year 1520. The bell was made toward the end of that year (the exact date is unknown) by an expert bellfounder by the name of Hans Beham, hailing from Nuremberg.
The huge bell was cast in Kraków, near the mediaeval Florian Gate, in a special form placed in a hole in the ground. It was made of bronze consisting of 80 percent copper and 20 percent tin. It’s estimated that it cost over half a million US dollars in today’s money.
The creation of the Zygmunt Bell is surrounded by a number of legends. According to one of them, it was made from cannons captured by Polish-Lithuanian forces after their victory over the army of the Grand Duchy of Moscow in 1514’s Battle of Orsha.
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According to another tale, during the casting of the Zygmunt Bell a court musician of Zygmunt the Old by the surname of Bekwark threw a silver string from his lute into the form with the molten metal and thanks to this the bell’s sound is so beautiful. The bell’s tone was supposedly also enhanced when either a golden ring or Zygmunt the Old’s silverware were thrown into the metal alloy.
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From the 2021 book ‘Dzwoniąc Zygmuntem. Ze Wspomnień Wawelskiego Dzwonnika’, trans. MK
At this point it’s worth adding that a precise chemical analysis didn’t reveal any traces of gold or silver in the Zygmunt Bell. Also, its chemical composition is different from that of typical 16th-century cannons.
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The Wawel Castle & Wawel Cathedral, photo: Bartłomiej Kudowicz / Forum
After the bell was cast, it wasn’t immediately moved to Wawel Cathedral because the king, whose seat was Wawel Castle, was away from Kraków on a military excursion. The musical device only arrived at the cathedral in the summer of 1521. In preparation for the hanging of the bell, one of the cathedral’s towers was expanded with an additional storey meant for the instrument. Nowadays this tower is known as Zygmunt Tower. When on 9th July 1521 the bell was being pulled into the tower, by means of ropes, tackles and a counterweight, the king was there to witness it. Four days later, on 13th July 1521, it sounded for the first time commemorating Poland’s win in 1410’s Battle of Grunwald.
The Zygmunt Bell is considered a masterpiece of Renaissance bell founding art. It has an almost perfect shape, the only small flaws are that one side is half a centimetre taller than the other and that the perimeter is a slightly flattened circle. The enormous bell is 241 centimetres high and its diameter reaches up to 242 centimetres. Together with its clapper (the object hanging within the bell which strikes it) and other elements it weighs well over 12 tonnes. The thickness of the bell’s walls ranges from 7 to 29 centimetres.
The bell’s sound is said to be particularly beautiful. The so-called strike tone, or the dominant tone of the bell, is G in the fourth octave. But the bell’s sound is also made up of other notes. Here’s how it’s described by Marcin Biborski, a long time ringer of the Zygmunt Bell and author of a 2021 book about this exceptional instrument titled Dzwoniąc Zygmuntem. Ze Wspomnień Wawelskiego Dzwonnika (Ringing the Zygmunt Bell: The Memories of a Wawel Bell-Ringer):
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Its weight […] determines its tone. Zygmunt plays the tone of F sharp in the third octave and additionally has so-called overtones or side tones and this is a marvellous chord. Anybody who’s ever listened to the Zygmunt Bell and compared its sound to that of other bells says this is a beautiful concert.
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From ‘Dzwoniąc Zygmuntem’ a Youtube interview with Marcin Biborski, trans. MK
It’s estimated that in favourable weather conditions the bell can be heard as far as 20 kilometres away.
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A close-up view of the Zygmunt Bell, photo: Jakub Włodek / AG
On the other hand, from up close you can see the embellishments that were cast onto the Zygmunt Bell. The instrument’s upper part is encircled by an inscription in Latin which can be translated into English as follows:
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For God, the best, the greatest, for the Virgin Mother of God and for his patron saints, the illustrious King Zygmunt of Poland had this bell made to be worthy of the greatness of his mind and deeds in the year of our Lord 1520.
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From katedra-wawelska.pl/en
Below this text, on the opposite sides of the bell, you can find two representations of saints. One of them shows Saint Stanislaus, patron of Poland and Wawel Cathedral, the other portrays Saint Sigismund of Burgundy, the personal patron of King Zygmunt the Old. Both saints are sided by the coats of arms of Poland (Crowned Eagle) and Lithuania (Pahonia). Zygmunt the Old was the monarch of both these countries which in 1569 formed a single political organism known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Also, the name of the bell’s creator, the aforementioned Hans Beham, can be found below the likenesses of the two saints. On one side, his name is inscribed in Latin and on the other in German. These two inscriptions, which weren’t cast onto the bell but were carved in it, feature a curious sign – Beham’s artisanal emblem.
Holidays, triumphs & coronations
At first the bell was called magna campana regia which is Latin for ‘grand royal bell.’ Eventually it became known as the Zygmunt Bell, honouring the patron saint of the king. It is also commonly referred to as the Bell of Zygmunt and this name refers to the bell’s funder, Zygmunt the Old.
In the olden days, the bell would ring over a hundred times a year, commemorating important state and church events as well as liturgical holidays. The bell’s sound marked sixteen coronations of the kings of Poland, including the coronation of Zygmunt the Old’s son, Zygmunt II Augustus (Sigismund II Augustus), which took place on 20th February 1530. It also commemorated canonisation celebrations as well as military triumphs, such as King Jan III Sobieski’s victory in 1683’s Battle of Vienna.
After Poland was deprived of its independence by Russia, Prussia and Austria in what is known as the partitions of Poland, the sound of the Zygmunt Bell acquired a new dimension:
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After the partitions, in the 19th century, the Zygmunt Bell started to gain new symbolic meanings. Funded ages ago by a wise king, it heralded his glory and reminded people about the might of his country. When it rang strongly on Christmas and on Easter Resurrection Processions, it gave hope for the resurrection of Poland – a rebirth of the country.
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From ‘Dzwon Zygmunt ma 500 lat’ a 2021 article in Gazeta Wyborcza, trans. MK
Poland regained its independence on 11th November 1918 and the Zygmunt Bell commemorated, among other things, the anniversary of this significant event during the Interwar period. In this era, it also rang out in May 1935 during the funeral of Marshal Józef Piłsudski who was instrumental in recreating the sovereign state of Poland.
The bell also sounded to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Poland in May 1966, and on 17th October 1978 to celebrate the fact that a day earlier John Paul II had become the first Polish pope in history. Nowadays it’s used about 25 times a year, mainly on important liturgical holidays like Palm Sunday and Christmas Day. The bell also rings to mark especially significant secular dates such as the 650th anniversary of the creation of Kraków’s Jagiellonian University, which was celebrated on 10th May 2014.
An impressive anniversary
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Performers in front of the Wawel Castle in a spectacle titled ‘When Bells Dance’ prepared for the 500th anniversary of the Zygmunt Bell, photo: M. Lasyk / Reporter / East News
Until the year 1999, the Zygmunt Bell was the biggest bell in Poland. It lost that title when the Mary Mother of God Bell was created for the village of Licheń’s basilica. This younger giant bell weighs over 14 tonnes and measures 4.4 metres in height.
But some things never change. Today the Zygmunt Bell is still put in motion the same way as 500 years ago – manually! This is truly exceptional as nowadays most great bells are operated by mechanisms. In order to sound the massive Zygmunt Bell, twelve people need to pull on ropes attached to the swinging wooden construction it hangs on. When the bell swings from side to side, its clapper strikes its walls producing the sound. The fact that this ancient method of sounding the Zygmunt Bell is still practiced today certainly adds to the amazing cultural continuity this instrument represents:
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For 500 years, Zygmunt has been not only a priceless historical artefact, a work of art, but also a living witness and active participant in important events, one with the power to awaken human consciousness.
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From ‘Dzwon Zygmunt ma 500 lat’ in Gazeta Wyborcza, trans. MK
To celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Zygmunt Bell’s service in July 2021, the city of Kraków organised a series of cultural events. These included an outdoor dance spectacle referencing the bell’s history through Renaissance dances as well as an evening laser show which transposed the sound of the bell into light images projected on the façade of Wawel Castle. As for the Zygmunt Bell itself, on 13th July 2021 it marked its impressive anniversary by ringing twice – at 5:15 pm and 9:00 pm!
Written by Marek Kępa, Sep 21
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