Last year I was introduced to the use of bells to announce time in European cities.  Every quarter hour the bells chime, once for quarter after, twice for half past, and three times for quarter till.  If you have any sense of the time, these quarterly chimes let you know what time it is.  On the hour, of course, the bells ring once for each hour.  (Sibylle adds:  they use two different bells, a smaller one for the quarter hours, and a larger, deeper one, for on the hour.  On the hour, you first hear four quarter bells, then the larger bell once for each hour.)

Here in the States, you only hear church bells occasionally.  In downtown Kansas City, Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral sounds it bells every hour.  Most neighborhood churches, if they have bells, ring them only on Sunday or for special occasions.

 

View from Stiftskirche, Stuttgart Germany

When we were in Stuttgart the last Sunday of our trip, we realized that it was the annual historic monument day, and that historic sites normally closed to the public, would be open.  Just off the Königstraße in Stuttgart, is the 600 year old Stiftskirche.  We were able to climb the bell tower, all 63 meters of it – 230 steps, going round and round and round. 

Contained in the tower is a 5.2 meter diameter bell, weighing some 6 tons.  How it was ever hauled to the top of the tower is beyond me.  I was able to capture several panoramic views of the city from tower, which you can see on my Flickr site.