*Location:

   Stadhuiskoepel
   Hofplein at Herenwaltje
   Leeuwarden (Ljouwert),
     Friesland, Netherlands
   LL: N 53.20207, E 5.79580

   Nieuwetoren/ St.Jacobstoren
   (then in storage until 1914)

Site locator map
City locator maps and gazetteer page

*Carillonist:

   Vincent Hensen
   E: hensenv@gmail.com

   1973-2002 Dirk S. Donker

*Contact:

   Leeuwarden Stadskantoor
   Oldehoofsterkerkhof 2
   8911 DH  Leeuwarden
   T: 14 058

*Schedule:

   Auto melody at hour and half-hour

*Remarks:

   Original carillon by Claudius Fremy,
   except for 3 bells by historic founders
   Johan ter Steghe (1544), Hans Falck
   (1644) & Petrus Overney (1689).

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 39 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is G# in the middle octave
   Keyboard range:     A#D   /    ----  
   Transposition is up 10 semitone(s), i.e., from C to A#
   There are two missing bass semitones
   The presence or absence of a practice console is unknown
   The instrument was enlarged in 1972
     with bells made by Eijsbouts        
   Prior history:
     In 1686, the instrument was begun with 33 bells
       by the maker cited in Remarks above
       (31 bells remain from that work.)
   Auxiliary mechanisms: E     
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 1974

The Dutch Wikipedia article about the building mentions the carillon's installation in 1914.  It identifies the three historic founders, with links to pages about the work of two of them.  There is a photo of the building, with bells clearly visible in the openings of the octagonal lantern.

Building photo from a different perspective

This carillon is mentioned in the English version of a lecture (PDF) given to the WCF Congress in Antwerp 2014 by Laura Meilink, covering the history of Hemony & Fremy among the bellfounders of Amsterdam.

The monument register page for this building (alternate: click "Monumentnummer" on the Zoekresultaten page) mentions the carillon; click "Lees verder" for more details, including the dates of the three historic bells.  Curiously, the Hans Falck bell is reported as cast in 1644, though Falck is reported elsewhere as having died in 1635, after which his foundry was taken over by Jacob Noteman. 

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of miscellaneous bellfoundries, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Eijsbouts bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all Netherlands traditional carillons by pitch (weight).
Ranking among all Netherlands traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all Netherlands traditional carillons by year of completion.

Index to all traditional carillons in Netherlands.

Index to all tower bell instruments in NL/Friesland.

   This page was built from the database on  2-Mar-25
   based on textual data last updated on 2025/02/02
   and on technical data last updated on 1979/08/07