Apolda Bell

A total change about in the weather. Pouring with rain! Thought it might be time to blip my Apolda Bell - I bought it as souvenier when visiting Apolda in East Germany a few years ago. You can skip the history if you like, although it is interesting as a reminder of what happened in East Germany to many firms at the time.

The Apolda bell foundry was begun in 1722. Part of it is now the Bell Museum (Das Apoldaer Glockenmuseum). Over 20,000 bells cast in Apolda are now scattered all over the world – including the large bell of Cologne.
The Museum, founded in 1952, shows the cultural history of the bell from its beginnings until the present day and pays tribute to the Apolda bell casters. Visitors are allowed to touch and even ring most of the bells.

In the partition of Germany following World War II, Apolda fell into the Russian zone. In spite of the difficulties caused by the political situation, the foundry was re-established under the management of F.A.Schilling, later joined by his son, Franz Peter Schilling. In 1972, the foundry was nationalized; nevertheless, Peter and his wife, Margarete, were retained in management positions for a further four years, Peter being the plant manager. It is not known who managed the Apolda foundry after the Schillings were ousted. It ceased operation in 1987. After the reunification of Germany, the foundry property was returned to the Schillings in 1992; but they found nothing of value left there - only scrap metal and other rubbish.