Bell tower facts for kids

A bell tower, also called a belfry or campanile.

A bell tower is a tall building or part of a building that holds one or more bells. People also call them a belfry or a campanile. Bell towers are usually built very high. This helps the sound of the bells travel far away so many people can hear them.

There are different ways to make the bells in a bell tower ring. Often, someone pulls a rope connected to the bell. This makes the bell swing and a part inside called a clapper hits the bell. Another way is to use a special keyboard called a carillon. Sometimes, a clock or a computer can control the bells. This lets them ring at certain times without anyone needing to be there.

History of Bell Towers

Bell towers are not found in very old times. The first time a bell tower was used with a church was around the early 5th century. This was done by a person named Paulinus of Nola.

In Italy, bell towers (called campanile) were almost always separate from the main church building. They were tall, plain towers standing on their own. But in northern Europe, bell towers were usually built right onto churches from the start.

People in England knew about bell towers by the time of Bede, a famous historian. When Hilda, an abbess, died in 680 AD, a nun said she heard the sound of a bell. Bell towers are mentioned many times during the 8th century. One famous one was the campanile of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Bernini's Bell Towers

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was a famous designer. Pope Urban XIII chose him to build two bell towers on the front of St. Peter's Basilica. But when the first tower was built, it started to shift. Big cracks appeared in the walls. Work on the second tower had to stop.

People blamed Bernini for the problems. But later, they found out that the ground under the towers was not strong enough. The towers had to be taken down. This was a big challenge for Bernini's career. However, he went on to have a very successful career after this.

Images for kids

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  Bell tower of the former monastery in Dürnstein, Lower Austria

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  Ivan The Great Bell Tower in the Kremlin in Moscow, built in 1508

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  The Santo Tomás parish church in Haro, La Rioja has an exconjuratory for weather prayers in its bell tower

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  Shafer Tower at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana

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  Elizabeth Tower, London completed in 1859; better known as Big Ben.

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  Spasskaya Tower, Moscow Kremlin, built in 1491, is one of the oldest in Europe.

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  The Leaning Tower of Pisa, campanile of the Duomo di Pisa, Italy.

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  St Mark's Campanile, Venice.

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  Bell tower in the Muuga village of the Vinni Parish, Lääne-Viru County, Estonia

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  Bell tower of the monastery of St. Peter and Paul, in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

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  Bell tower of Teruel Cathedral, at Teruel, (Spain).

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  Old Belfry of Tōdai-ji, Japan (752, rebuilt 1200)

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  An Irish round tower, bell tower, at Glendalough, Ireland, c. 900 AD

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  Primitive bell tower at Katúň, Slovakia (≈12th century)

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  The Domtoren, bell tower of the St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht, Netherlands (13th century)

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  Separate bell tower at Feock Church, Cornwall (13th century)

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  Inside the belfry of St Medard & St Gildard's, in Little Bytham in Lincolnshire, England (13th century)

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  Beijing Bell Tower (1272, reconstructed 1420, 1800)

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  Campanile at the University of Northern Iowa (1927)

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  Bell Tower of Xi'an (1384)

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  Belfry of Aalst, Belgium (1460)

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  The belfry of Surb Zoravor church in Yerevan, Armenia (1693)

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  Great Lavra Bell Tower of Kyiv Pecherska Lavra, Ukraine (1745)

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  Bell tower at Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo (1797)

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  Belfry of Bruges, Belgium (1240) (modified 1480s, 1820)

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  Bell Tower, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania) (1894)

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  Sather Tower (more commonly known as "The Campanile"), Berkeley, CA (1914)

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  Belfry of Lille, France (1921)

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  The Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, FL (1929)

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  Main Building (University of Texas at Austin), Austin, TX (1937)

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  Rainbow Tower, Niagara Falls, Canada (1947)

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  The Campanile at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (1950)

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  Campanile at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., paid for by the Knights of Columbus; known as "The Knight's Tower". (1959)

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  The bell tower at University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA (1960s)

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  The Addleshaw Tower of Chester Cathedral, England (1973–74)

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  Brigham Young University Centennial Carillon Tower, Provo, Utah (1975)

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  'Swan Bells', Perth, Western Australia (2000)

See also

In Spanish: Torre campanario para niños