Temporary, relocated or defunct
European tower bell instruments

Some carillons and chimes in Europe 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 or stolen, and were not replaced.  There are no data pages for such sites, so they cannot be indexed in the same manner as extant instruments.  Hence this page.

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

NOTE:  This listing includes sites in Belgium and the Netherlands

EXPOSITIONS:

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

1958
World's Fair, Brussels, Belgium
For this event, carillons were installed here by Petit & Fritsen (47 bells, in the Dutch Pavilion), Vanbergen (unknown number of bells, in unknown location), and Eijsbouts (unknown number of bells, in the Belgian Village).  All were removed after the Fair.
- Two octaves of the P&F carillon were temporarily installed at the Utrecht Industries' Fair (Netherlands) in 1959 (see below); the remainder went to Arnhem, Netherlands (St.Eusebiustoren).
- The Eijsbouts carillon was installed in the Belgian Monument at Amersfoort, Netherlands.
- The disposition of the Vanbergen carillon is unknown; it is identified in the database as 
        BRUSSELS - WF        : BELGIUM

1959
Utrecht Industries' Fair, Utrecht, Netherlands
Two octaves of the P&F carillon from the World's Fair (see 1958, above) were installed here in 1959.  In 1969, they were sold back to the manufacturer, and later went to Hulst, Netherlands.

RELOCATIONS:

Carillons which have been moved from their original city or structure of installation to another place are listed in order by city name, with links to their current locations when known:
A.Schweitzer Memorial Tower, Libingen, Switzerland.
In 1967, a 60-bell carillon was installed by Petit & Fritsen; this was by far the largest and heaviest carillon in Switzerland.  In 1981-2, the carillon was moved to Chateaurenard, France, and in 1990 the bells were put into a traveling carillon for Papageno.  This traveling carillon was later sold, and is now based in Soest, Netherlands.  One bell disappeared somewhere along the way; there are now only 59.

DEFUNCT:

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

St.Nicholas Church, Brussels, Belgium
By 1642, the city-owned 38-bell carillon installed here by unknown founder(s) was the largest in the Low Countries.  In 1662 it was replaced with 38 bells by François Hemony; that carillon was destroyed by war in 1695.  In 1714, a new carillon of the same size was installed in the rebuilt tower by Witlockx & de Haze (10 basses by Willem Witlockx + 28 trebles by Melchior de Haze), but that was destroyed in July of the same year when the tower collapsed.  This site is identified in the database as 
        BRUSSELS - STN       : BELGIUM
Broodhuis, Grote Markt, Brussels, Belgium
The fourth city-owned carillon, of 49 bells and rather light weight, was installed here by Causard in 1895; it proved to be entirely unsatisfactory, and was removed in 1898.  This site is identified in the database as 
        BRUSSELS - B         : BELGIUM

Collegiale, Dinant, Namur, Belgium
In 1930, Slegers-Causard installed a 35-bell carillon as a replacement for a smaller automatic-only instrument (origin and age unknown) which had been taken or destroyed in WW I.  The new carillon was in turn stolen in 1943.

Sint-Baafskathedraal, Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
In 1540, this tower had a 10-bell chime.  By 1636, the instrument had been expanded to 31 bells.  In 1724, most of them were replaced to form a carillon of 41 bells.  But by 1797, it was inoperable, and in 1803 almost all of the carillon bells were sold.  What remains is two great bells from 1636, two other bells from 1725, and three modern bells.

Traveling Carillon, Heiligerlee, Limburg, Netherlands
This carillon, of unknown size and age, was made by Vanbergen, possibly for use as a public relations tool.  Presumably the bells (or the whole instrument) were sold before the foundry closed in 1980, though their destination is unknown. This site is identified in the database as 
        HEILIGERLEE - Mobile : NETHERLANDS

Vanbergen Foundry, Heiligerlee, Limburg, Netherlands
In 1968, a lightweight carillon of 37 bells (three octaves fully chromatic) was installed by Vanbergen in an open-frame tower at the bellfoundry.  Presumably the bells were sold before the foundry closed in 1980, because the empty tower was later photographed; their destination is unknown. This site is identified in the database as 
        HEILIGERLEE - VB/1   : NETHERLANDS

Benedictine abbey church, Maredsous, Namur, Belgium
This place has never had a chime or carillon.  But it does have a derelict console for a 23-bell carillon; this was built (or acquired) in 1943 as part of an unsuccessful plot to prevent the authorities of the German occupation from taking the bells.  There is an ACW article on the 6-bell peal here, with a photo of the console accompanying the story.  See also our entry for the great bell here.

St.Peter Church, Riga, Latvia
In 1694, C.Fremy constructed a 28-bell carillon of unknown weight.  It was destroyed by fire in 1721, and was not replaced.

Beurs (Bourse), Rotterdam, Zuid Holland, Netherlands
In 1660, a carillon of 27 bells was made by Hemony for the Stadhuis (City Hall).  In 1829, it was moved from the Stadhuis to the Beurs.  It was destroyed by bombing on 14 May 1940.  This site is identified in the database as 
        ROTTERDAM - B        : NETHERLANDS

Sint Josefskerk (or Heuvelsekerk), Tilburg, Netherlands
In 1925, Gillett & Johnston delivered a 37-bell carillon based on D in the middle octave, probably replacing an older instrument of which little is known.  These bells were installed by Eijsbouts (not yet a bellfounder), and then were stolen in 1943.  This site is identified in the database as 
        TILBURG - STJ        : NETHERLANDS

(Unknown), Ysselmonde, Netherlands
In 1925, William Gorham Rice (a usually reliable source) reported the existence of a carillon in this place, giving the name of the carillonist and the recital schedule.  This town cannot now be identified, though there is a Dutch island named IJsselmonde.  Until the mystery is solved, this entry will remain.

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

[none listed yet]

NOTE: Sites for which no database identification is listed are the only ones in their respective cities in the database.  Thus their identification follows the standard model.

Return to Indexes to tower bell sites in Europe.

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This page was created 2006/04/19 and last revised 2010/02/05.

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