The bell play in Křtiny will be even richer next year

Křtiny (Blanensko) - An additional seven bells could be added to the unique carillon in the Křtiny Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary next year. There are currently 27 bells there, weighing a total of over 2.5 tons. Today, they were able to fill a considerable part of the church area in Křtiny. To the surprise of Křtiny’s priest Tomáš Prnka, several hundred people attended the unique carillon concert.
    Master Radek Rejšek, who also plays the carillon in Prague’s Loreta, performed for about an hour today. He played carols and Christmas and Marian songs. “He even performed the old Czech song Hej mistře on our bells,” said Prnka.
    For some of the bells, this was already the fourth concert, but many of them had their concert premiere. The carillon has been in Křtiny since 2004, starting with 15 bells. In more than three years, it has played hundreds of songs.
    However, its range is still insufficient even with 27 bells for some pieces. Therefore, Prnka plans that by next year at the latest, he will add another six or seven bells to the set. These will be smaller, around ten kilograms. Each of them is expected to cost around 40,000 crowns, estimates the priest.
    The current 26 bells all have their names. Only one, a roughly 300-kilogram gift from the regional office, remains unnamed. The heaviest of all is Anna, weighing 364 kilograms.
    The idea to create a carillon in the Křtiny Church emerged after World War II. The faithful even managed to acquire two bells intended to be part of this installation. However, the bells were later confiscated, and the idea was forgotten. Work on the carillon started again seven years ago.