iustitia.bg
As a result of extensive renovations, the bell tower behind the mosque in Pécs (southwestern Hungary) will be operational again from Saturday. The tower rises eight meters during bell ringing, but has been out of service since 2017, due to a malfunction, according to the Diocese of Pécs website.
The bell tower of the Candlemas Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the mosque, located in Pécs’ main square, has not been in operation until now because there were no funds available to repair the electronics that move the tower, but experts began work this fall.
As a result, the hydraulic system that controls the movement of the bells and the motors that raise and lower them have been modernized, and the exterior of the tower has also been refreshed, they wrote. A Catholic church dedicated to St. Bartholomew the Apostle stood on the site of the church in the first third of the 13th century.
This church was demolished by the Turks who occupied the city in the 1560s, and its stones were used by Pasha Qasim to build the predecessor of the mosque that can still be seen today.
After the expulsion of the Turks, the church was given to the Jesuits, who consecrated it as a Christian church, demolished its crumbling minaret, and erected a bell tower on its north side. In 1813, ownership of the church was transferred to the Cistercians who had settled in Pécs. Between 1899 and 1906, the dome was covered in a Neo-Renaissance style, the tower was raised, and new bells were installed.
In 1939, at the same time as the reconstruction of Széchenyi Square, the building underwent a major renovation, restoring its Turkish features. Its capacity was increased and its Baroque bell tower was demolished, as it did not fit in with the architectural style of the historic building.
During the work, archaeologist Gyula Gosztonyi also found the foundation stones of the former St. Bartholomew’s Church. To ensure that the church did not remain without bells, two bells were suspended on a temporary iron frame above the eastern entrance to the building complex. In 1957, Abbot-Parish Priest Andor Kelemen had the bells removed with the intention of finding a more suitable place for them.
However, the social conditions that arose after the suppression of the revolution made it impossible to realize this intention. For many decades, the building had no bell tower, as the monument protection authority did not allow any construction that would change the view of Széchenyi Square.
Finally, in the early 2000s, it was decided that instead of a tower, a separate bell tower was needed, and Zoltán Bachman, an architect at the University of Pécs and winner of the Kossuth, Ybl, and Prima Primissima Awards, was commissioned to draw up the plans.
Following the official approval of the plans, a shaft was dug in the middle of the former sanctuary, which was bordered by 13th-century foundations. An elevator was installed in the shaft, and the bell tower designed by the architect, consisting of three stainless steel pipes, was placed there.
The bells, collectively known as the bells of St. Bartholomew, were placed on top of these pipes. The largest of the three bells is the Saint Maurus and Saint Bernard bell, weighing 290 kilograms. The middle bell, weighing 190 kilograms, was named after Saint Margaret of the House of Árpád, while the smallest, the Saint Paul death bell, weighs 90 kilograms.
The bells were moved by electric motors that generated a magnetic field without any pulling devices. They were designed and built by master clockmaker János Gulácsi. When the bells ring, the lift raises the bell tower to a height of thirteen meters, or about five stories, and once the bells fell silent after two minutes, the mechanism lowered them back to five meters.
As the bells rose and fell, a chime composed from a Gregorian melody by László Kircsi, associate professor at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Pécs, could be heard, which actually marked the beginning and end of the ringing.
At the foot of the bell tower stands a statue of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, created by Sándor Rétfalvi, winner of the Munkácsy Mihály Prize, which commemorates the patron saint of the 13th-century church.
The bells rang three times a day, at 7 a.m., noon, and 7 p.m., until 2017, when the electronics controlling the tower structure malfunctioned.
The ceremonial handover and episcopal blessing of the renovated bell tower will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, according to the diocese’s announcement.
Via MTI; Featured image: Pixabay
The post After an Eight-Year Hiatus, the Elevator Bell Tower of the Historic Pécs Mosque Is Back appeared first on Hungary Today.
After an Eight-Year Hiatus, the Elevator Bell Tower of the Historic Pécs Mosque Is Back 2025 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2025-12-04 15:08:04 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law Legfrissebb hírek Világhírek Országhírek Legfontosabb hírek legfrissebb hírek legfontosabb a nap legfrissebb hírei Petar Nizamov bíró Tollak Petar Nizamov – Tollak Igazságszolgáltatás bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia nyomozás Burgasz Bulgária hírek az elmúlt óra hírei a nap hírei mai hírek Bulgária hírek Bulgária hírei villámhírek top hírek legfontosabb legtöbbet kommentált legfrissebb hírek Bojko Boriszov hírek időjárás koronavírus hírek hírek időjárás facebook youtube facebook instagram mai hírek az utolsó percek hírei hírek ma ma hírek hírek bg hírek vezető hírek forró hírek bg híroldal hírekhez minden hír hír bg az elmúlt óra hírei legfrissebb hírek bg mai hírek ma hírek ma hírek az elmúlt óra hírei legfrissebb hírek ma hírek bg hírek 24 órás hírek vesti bg novini hírek világ madár bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini legfrissebb hírek ma novinite bg hírek hello bolgár politikai párt címer delyan peevski botrányos Bolgár Nemzeti Televízió Szabad Európa Televízió botrány exkluzív élő tv élő most tv tv online tv műsor bg élőben most tv hírek online tv online élő bíróság Burgasz bíróság Burgasz járási bíróság Burgasz bíróság Burgasz járási bíróság Burgasz járási bíróság Burgasz fellebbviteli bíróság Burgasz ügyész Burgasz ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Burgasz járási ügyészség Főügyész Ivan Geshev ügyész Geshev Tsatsarov Belügyminisztérium Burgasz ODMR Burgasz ODPR Burgasz rendőrség Burgasz járási rendőrség Burgasz ügyész Tsatsarov SGS ügyek Várna bíróság a SGS elnöke bírósági határozatok polgári ügyekben határozatok ügyekben Plovdivi bíróság bírósági határozatok ügyek Várna bíróság büntetőügyek kerületi járási bíróság határozatok munka a bíróságon SGS az SGS elnöke bírák Szófiai bíróság poszt bírák Plovdivi bíróság Plovdivi bírák Plovdiv Legfelsőbb Bíróság Felügyelőség Legfelsőbb Bíróság Legfelsőbb Bírósági Tanács ügyvéd ügyvéd büntetőügyek ügyvéd polgári ügyek ügyvéd házassági ügyek ügyvéd közigazgatási büntetőjog büntetőeljárás polgári jog polgári eljárás közigazgatási jog alkotmányjog
