Switzerland’s church bells set off a ringing debate
Sleep-deprived chime in on centuries-old tradition
GENEVA – In towns and villages across Switzerland, the nightly chiming of church bells is an integral part of the culture — albeit a noisy one.
Most Swiss are fond of this centuries-old tradition, which goes back to the age long before smartphones and other electronic devices showed the exact time. For others, especially those living within earshot of the ringing, the custom sets off alarms.
Neuer Zurcher Zeitung newspaper reported this week that in Hofstetten, a town of 2,000, a dispute erupted around the six-minute-long bell ringing at 5:30 a.m. at St. Nicholas Catholic Church. Several residents asked that the morning chiming be postponed until 7 a.m. so they could get more sleep.
Hundreds of outraged residents showed up at a church meeting and voted to leave the morning ritual unchanged for the sake of tradition.
The question became even more contentious in Wadenswil, a town of 21,000, where residents Alfred and Maryvone Naef complained about the incessant nighttime tolling of the bells at the nearby Protestant Reformed Church. They asked that the chiming be limited to once an hour rather than every 15 minutes.
Church authorities and the majority of residents took their case to Switzerland’s highest court. Its ruling in December was clear as a bell: The nightly chiming could continue because it was firmly rooted in the town’s culture.
Peter Meier, president of the church council, said the decision reflected the will of the people. Without the bells, residents “would miss the feeling of home and the sense of security,” he said.
Church chimes are not the only sounds causing a controversy in this bell-loving country.
Last year, a Dutch woman was denied Swiss citizenship because she complained about the sound of cowbells in her village.
Village administration spokesman Urs Treier told USA TODAY that the woman’s application was rejected because her complaints on social media were considered a “rebellion against our traditions.”
Though most Swiss are accustomed to the constant ringing of church and cow bells, expatriates are not. A popular English-language expat forum has a thread called “Damn church bells,” which publishes complaints about the widespread practice. It advises apartment hunters to check how close the dwelling is to a church and to listen to bells before signing the lease.
In some cases, relief might be coming soon. According to René Spielmann, president of the bell company Glockengiesserei Rüetschi, the new generation of bell clappers are quieter.
That may not work for every church. “The lower a church tower is, and the larger the opening through which noise of the bells can emerge, the more chance that someone will be disturbed,” he told TheLocal.ch news website this week.
The Naefs, who still live near Wadenswil’s 250-year-old church, will continue to long for the sounds of silence.