Slovenia renovates oldest working church bell

The St Nazarius bell at the Koper cathedral, the oldest working church bell in Slovenia and one of the oldest in Europe, has been renovated just in time for Christmas.

The 14th-century bell was restored together with others at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a bid to make their chime softer and their lifespan longer, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

The parish and municipality of Koper marked the completion of restoration work on the bells on 22 December. The clock in the cathedral's bell tower was also renovated to mimic the sound of old mechanical clocks, and new clappers were installed - the parts inside the bells that swing to make them ring.

Moreover, the bell yokes, which were previously made of iron and concrete, are now wooden in what is another change that softens sound vibration. Earlier, the interior of the 54 metre bell tower was also renovated.

The new clappers are made from "the softest steel available" to help improve the sound of the bells, said Tomaž Klopčič, director of Krn, a company that was in charge of the restoration project. He is confident the chimes of the cathedral will ring out across the coastal city without being too loud or disturbing the locals.

The St Nazarius bell, which was cast in Venice 692 years ago, previously had a heavy clapper that could have destroyed it completely within the next 50-100 years, but now the bell will be able to ring for centuries to come, Klopčič added. Its chime will be heard every Friday at 3 pm.

Other bells are significantly younger than the St Nazarius as they are from the 1990s.

According to Primož Krečič, priest at the Koper cathedral, bell ringing brings people together and creates a pleasant atmosphere, which is all the more important in the run-up to the Christmas holidays. The renovated clock and bells have been blessed by Bishop of Koper Peter Štumpf.

The Koper municipality co-funded the €80,000 renovation project with €40,000 through a public call for the co-financing of cultural monuments, while the parish covered the rest.

This was yet another happy event for the cathedral after it restored a Renaissance painting of Mary with the Child by Venetian artist Vittore Carpaccio in 2024.

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Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA