Temporary, relocated or defunct
tower bell instruments in Germany

Some carillons and chimes in Germany were installed temporarily in expositions or fairs of various kinds.  Many of these were later reinstalled elsewhere.  Other carillons were relocated from their original places of installation for various reasons.  And some have been destroyed, stolen or otherwise lost, and were not replaced.  This page summarizes those events.

The lists below present, in appropriate orders, the original locations of such instruments, without distinction between traditional and non-traditional mechanisms.

EXPOSITIONS:

Carillons known to have been part of various German exhibitions or expositions are listed in approximately chronological order, with links to their current locations when known:

Bundesgartenschau 1979, Bonn, Germany
Eijsbouts supplied a lightweight 2-octave carillon for this garden show in the suburb of Bad Gadesberg, and it remained there for a short time afterwards.  In 1981 it was relocated to a different park in the same town.

So far, we have found no records of chimes being displayed at any German expositions before installation elsewhere.

RELOCATIONS:

Carillons (traditional or otherwise) which have been moved from their original city or structure of installation to another place are listed in order by the original city name, with links to their current locations when known:

Bayreuth, Germany
An automatic carillon of 25 hemispherical bells, was installed in 1971 on a gable of the old town hall.  In 2005, it was moved a few blocks to its present location on a school in the same city.

Bayreuth, Germany
A lightweight 25-bell carillon with electric action was made by Eijsbouts, presumably in the late 1900s, for an unidentified person in Bayreuth, who mounted it on a trailer.  In 2007, the bells and frame were acquired by the city of Fuerth, who installed it in the Rathaus there.

Bochum, Germany
A carillon of 42 steel bells, possibly only automatic, was installed on the headquarters building of the Thyssen-Krupp company in this city some time in the 20th century.  In 2007, the bells were taken down by that company and put into storage.  In 2011, 25 of the bells were installed in a new tower on the grounds of the company that had made them; the disposition of the other 17 bells is unknown.

Clausthal-Zellerfield, Germany
An automatic carillon of 25 steel bells, installed on the Bergakademie building in 1956, was moved in 2001 to a new tower on the campus of what is now a university.

Danzig, Germany (now Gdansk, Poland)
A carillon by Schilling of Apolda was cast in 1908 and installed in 1910 in Danzig, which was then part of Germany.  In 1942 the bells were seized for war material, but they were never melted down, and after World War II was over they were recovered near Hamburg.  28 of them were eventually install in Lübeck.

Weilbach, Germany
A lightweight automatic carillon was installed in the Rathaus in 1991.  In 2007 it was moved to a different building and given a traditional keyboard.

Weimar, Germany
An automatic carillon of porcelain bells was installed in the Belvedere in 1967, but remained there for only a few years.  It is now in the Rathaus.
Chimes which have been moved from their original city or structure of installation to another place are listed in order by the original city name, with links to their current locations when known:

Neumarkt, Germany
A small glockenspiel was installed in the Untere Markt (lower market) in 1982.  In 2002, it was removed, renovated and enlarged for installation in the Obere Markt (upper market).

DEFUNCT:

Carillons which no longer exist (and were not replaced) are listed in order by city name:

Münster, Aachen, Germany
A 32-bell carillon, cast by Goulard Fils (Malmedy) in 1857, was destroyed by war in 1917.

Rathaus (City Hall), Allenstein, Germany (now Olsztyn, Poland)
In 1930, an unknown maker constructed a 30-bell fully-chromatic carillon with bass bell at F in the middle octave.  The bells were taken in World War II, and were not replaced.  Recent information indicates that these bells actually went to Tashkent, Uzbekistan; appropriate changes will be made in the next set of updates to this Website.

(Unknown), Genshagen, Germany
A carillon or chime of unknown size, cast by J.A. deGrave in 1717, was probably destroyed in World War I. 

Walther-werke, Grimma, Leipzig, Germany
A 42-bell carillon, of unknown origin, was cast in 1936 but was stolen before it was installed.

Katharinakirche, Hamburg, Germany
A carillon of unknown size was supplied by François Hemony in 1664.  It no longer exists, though it is uncertain when and how it was lost.  That is unlikely to have happened by damage to the building, because an older great bell survives.

St.Michaelskirche, Hamburg, Germany
A 32-bell carillon was cast by VanAerschodt (date unknown).  It was destroyed by war in 1917.

St.Petrikirche, Hamburg, Germany
A carillon of unknown size was supplied by François Hemony in 1661 or 1664, and was destroyed by fire in 1842.  In 1883-7 it was replaced with 40 bells, but that was destroyed by war in 1917.

(Unknown), Hameln, Germany
A lightweight set of 25 bells was installed at an unknown place in this city by Otto/Saarlouis in 1934;  It was destroyed in WW II.

Rathaus, Kassel, Hessen, Germany
A lightweight instrument of 24 bells was installed here in 1938 by a unknown maker.  It was destroyed by war in 1943.

Deichmannhaus, Köln, Germany
A lightweight automatic carillon of 24 bells was installed here by Eijsbouts in 1969.  It disappeared during a major renovation of the building about 2006, and its disposition is unknown.

Ordensburg Krössinsee, Krössinsee, Germany (formerly reported as Kruesinsee)
This building complex is near what was then the city of Falkenburg in Pomerania; it is now Budowo, near Złocieniec in Poland.  It was constructed in the early 1930s as one of three educational centers for Nazi Party cadres, and had two towers, which are still standing.  Around the time it was dedicated (April 1936), a 53-bell carillon was ordered.  Those bells were cast in 1940 by Schilling but apparently were never delivered; their disposition is unknown.

Liebfrauenstift, Mainz, Germany
A small carillon of unknown size, cast by François Hemony in 1660, was destroyed by war in 1792.

Porzelein-Fabrik, Meißen, Sachsen/Dresden, Germany
A carillon of 28 porcelain bells was set up the courtyard of the Meissen porcelain manufactory in 1938.  It later disappeared, and its actual disposition is unknown.

Porzelein-Fabrik, Meißen, Sachsen/Dresden, Germany
A carillon of 40 or 42 porcelain bells was installed in an 11-meter tower at the workshop of the Meissen porcelain manufactory in 1960, to celebrate 250 years of Meissen porcelain.  In the 1970s, this was dismantled during a construction project, and never reinstalled; its actual disposition is unknown.  In 1985, a replacement project was considered as part of a celebration of 275 years, but it was never carried out.

Anscharkirche, Neumünster, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
A carillon of unknown origin and description was destroyed in World War II.

Anscharkirche, Schwarzenberg, Sachsen, Germany
A porcelain carillon of 27 bells was temporarily installed here around Christmas 1938.

Druckerei Hohn, Ulm, Germany
A 23-bell carillon, of unknown origin, was destroyed in World War II.  Presumably it was automatic in operation.

(Unknown), (Unknown), Germany
A lightweight 27-bell carillon, cast by Otto in 1934 for an unknown destination, is presumed to have been destroyed in WW II.

(Unknown), Zeitz, Germany
A 28-bell carillon, cast by an unknown founder in 1934, does not survive; its disposition is unknown.

Chimes and chime-sized instruments which no longer exist (and were not replaced) are listed in order by city name:

Heinrich Schmahl residence, Hamburg-Barmbek, Germany
In 1885, the Otto foundry made 20 bells that were intended for St.Jacobikirche in Hamburg.  For some reason, that installation did not happen, and bell advisor Heinrich Schmahl installed them at his residence in the Barmbek neighborhood of Hamburg.  They are presumed to have been confiscated for war material in 1917.

Ev.Luth.Kirche, Spiekeroog, Nieder-Sachsen, Germany
A 9-bell chime, cast by Bachert in 1962, had disappeared by 1977.

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This page was created on 2020/10/15 and last revised on 2025/04/20.

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