“Zygmunt” Bell, Wawel, Kraków

Monuments

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Wawel 5, 31-003 Kraków Tourist region: Kraków i okolice

tel. +48 124299516

“Zygmunt” Bell in Wawel was funded by Sigismund I of Poland. It is the best-known Polish bell.

This large bell was cast in Krakow in 1520 by the Nuremberg bellmaker Hans Behem and hung in the specially added old defence tower of the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill. The people of Kraków first heard the sound of the Sigismund Bell on 13 July 1521. The bell's founder was King Sigismund I the Old, whose intention was to ring ‘not only to God Most High but also to the glory of the House of Jagiellon and the Kingdom of Poland’.Over the years, it has grown to become one of the most important national symbols. It is 12,600 kilograms in weight, 450 centimetres in total height with yoke and heart, impact tone G (sol), and is audible up to 30 kilometres away. Twelve bell ringers are needed to rock it. This is a real powerhouse. The bell is adorned with bas-reliefs ofSt Sigismund and StStanislaus and images of the Polish Eagle and the Lithuanian Pahonia. Since then, it has been beating at the most solemn and imeaningful moments for the Polish nation. It fascinated Young Poland artists, particularly Stanisław Wyspiański. He immortalised the bell in the drama 'Liberation' and 'Acropolis'. Not everyone knows that 'Sigmund' gets fat in autumn and winter. He even happens to gain a hundred kilograms (the wooden yoke, swing and hemp ropes soak up moisture in autumn and winter and become heavier. In summer, they dry out and become lighter). Moreover, when ringing, its weight increases threefold!