The bellringers guild of the city of Roeselare was founded in 1987, initially to protect the bell's patrimony in the five-hundred-year-old Saint Michael's Church, but also to promote manual bell ringing. Because in many places electricity and computers have supplanted manual labor. According to the bellringers you should not ring a church bell too hastily or carelessly, every occasion has its own sound. That is why 4 bells are still sounded manually on church holidays and special occasions.
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| Picture courtesy of the tourist office Roeselare |
The city has a renovated museum that is dedicated to the church and its bells. It introduces you to a long-standing bell-ringing culture via easily accessible floors in the church tower. You can play a tune on the carillon yourself or sound one of the bells. In total there are 75 bells and 2 carillons located on the 12 floors.
The museum is arranged in such a way that you get a good overview of the history of the church and the profession as the bells ring. A bell chair introduces the visitor to sound techniques and sound methods. Higher up the playing drum shows how the correct time was struck. On the bells louder, attic, four manual bells are ready to be used. In the clock house there are 47 other bells and a little lower, hang two larger bells, together with the city carillon. In 1735 the tower was 91 meters high. After storm damage, it was reduced to 65 meters.
More information about the church and the museum can be found here
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