The clock tower

Beskrivning

In the block north of the church in the city center, this free-standing clock tower was built in the 1790s. The tower is 36 meters high and eight-sided with every other side wider, every other narrower. On the roof there is a gilded cross. The tower is divided into several floors with beams. The drawings for the tower were submitted in 1791 and were made by the architect Thure Wennberg.

The current bell tower has had a predecessor, located in the same place. It was built in 1760s and was made of wood. It was destroyed in a fire on August 21, 1790, and soon after that it was decided to build the current stone tower.

In the tower there are three bells; The small bell (weight: 650 kg) from 1697 (recast after the fire in 1790), the middle bell (weight: 780 kg) from 1706 and Carl XII's monogram and the large bell (weight: 1130 kg) from 1765 (this is also recast after the fire in 1790).

Every weekday morning at 08:00 and evening at 19:00 the little bell in the tower rings. In the past, this was done to remind people that it is time to start or stop stetting fires. The tradition of bell ringing lives on today.

Until 1924 the bells were run by "ringers", now they ring with electric motors. In the 1940s a connection was made between the belfry and the church so that the bells can be operated from the church. In the old days, you had to buy bell ringing. As an example, a quarter soul ringing cost 0,16 SEK in 1698. Today there are free soul ringings at 11 a.m. for five minutes with the large bell. In the past, the time was different depending on the occupation you had.