Towers
The cathedral has twin 99 meter towers referred to as the north tower and the south tower. The towers were constructed flanking the main entrance portal on the west front of the church between 1215 and 1253. In 1346 the towers were strengthened and given pyramidal tops of uneven heights. When the towers were restored and raised in the 1890s they were given Rhenish "helmets," which still cap the towers today. It is possible to climb the south tower for a view of the city. The north tower remains closed. The crossing tower is a reminder of the original style of the west front towers with a pyramidal cap.
During the Middle Ages the towers had eight bells. Today the towers house the cathedral's four bells. The north tower has three bells. The oldest surviving bell is the "Maria Gloriosa" cast in 1433 by the famous bell maker Ghert Klinghe. The other bells were removed and melted down for the war effort in World War II. In 1951 two bells, "Hansa" and "Felicitas", were donated to the cathedral by former residents living abroad. In 1962 a prominent Bremen family donated a fourth bell, the "Brema," which hangs in the south tower. The Brema weighs 7000 kg.
Read more about this topic: Bremen Cathedral
Famous quotes containing the word towers:
“A great city, whose image dwells in the memory of man, is the type of some great idea. Rome represents conquest; Faith hovers over the towers of Jerusalem; and Athens embodies the pre-eminent quality of the antique world, Art.”
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)
“From whatever you wish to know and measure you must take your leave, at least for a time. Only when you have left the town can you see how high its towers rise above the houses.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Was this the face that launched a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.—
Her lips suck forth my soul; see where it flies!—
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.
Here will I dwell, for heaven be in these lips,
And all is dross that is not Helena.”
—Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)