1952: The Pummerin Bell

One of the biggest bells in Europe is an Austrian national symbol. Officially named the Josephinische Glocke (Josephinist Bell), and cast from the remains of cannons that the Ottomans left behind after the second siege of Vienna in 1683, it became popularly known as the Pummerin soon after its consecration in 1711 due to its deep sound. Destroyed during the fire of Stephen’s Cathedral in 1945, the bell was re-cast as a gift from the Province of Upper Austria to Vienna in 1951. Displayed at first in the courtyard of the Upper Austrian Provincial Museum, the transfer of the bell in the spring of 1952 across the zonal borders of the occupied country became a symbolic journey for a resurrected, unified Austria. At the end of 1952, the Red-White-Red Broadcaster transmitted the sounds of the Pummerin ringing for the first time, at which point the bell was still on the ground: only in October 1957, could it be pulled up and installed in the north tower

The ringing of the Pummerin is regulated by a fixed “ringing schedule” on specific days, but also on notable occasions: it thus rang at the signing of the State Treaty in 1955, as well as during the memorial service for the victims of the refugee tragedy in Parndorf 2015.

The ringing of the Pummerin and the Blue Danube waltz are integral parts of Austria’s culture of celebration on the new year.

External Resources (in German only):
Radioreportage vom ersten Probeanschlag der neuen Pummerin 1952 in Wien [Ausschnitt]: https://www.mediathek.at/portaltreffer/atom/135BBDA9-18F-00097-00000B84-135B28B9/pool/BWEB/