Miguelete Tower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Miguelete Tower |
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El Miguelete
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The Miguelete Tower attached to the Valencia Cathedral
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| Alternative names | Torre del Micalet Valencian language |
| General information | |
| Type | Bell tower |
| Architectural style | Valencian Gothic |
| Address | Plaça de la Reina, València, 46001, Valencia, Spain |
| Town or city | Valencia |
| Country | Valencian Community, Spain |
| Coordinates | 39°28′31″N 0°22′32″W / 39.4753°N 0.3756°W |
| Construction started | 1381 |
| Completed | 1429 |
| Height | 63 m. (206.7 ft.) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Andreu Julià, Pere Balaguer |
The Miguelete Tower is a famous bell tower in Valencia, Spain. It stands next to the Valencia Cathedral. People call it El Miguelete in Castilian Spanish or Torre del Micalet in the Valencian language. Building the tower started in 1381 and finished in 1429. Many master builders worked on it because it was a big and complex project. The first builder was Andrés Juliá.
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About the Miguelete Tower
The Miguelete Tower is built in the Valencian Gothic style. It is about 63 meters (206.7 feet) tall. The tower has eight sides, like an octagon. Inside, there are 207 steps that wind all the way up.
For many years, people called it "New Bell" or "Champ of the Cathedral." This was to tell it apart from an older tower. Later, its name changed to "Torre del Miguelete." This new name came from the very large bell inside, which is also called El Miguelete.
The tower was first built on its own, separate from the Cathedral. It was connected to the Cathedral in the late 15th century. This happened when the main part of the church was made longer. You can enter the tower through a special doorway.
The Miguelete Tower has several levels:
- The first level is solid, except for the spiral staircase.
- The second level was once a prison or a safe place for people seeking asylum.
- The third level was the "Home of the Bell-Ringer."
- The top floor is the bell room. It has eight windows, and seven of them hold bells.
In 1425, the main part of the tower was done. However, a planned spire for the top was never built.
The big bell, El Miguelete, used to hang from a wooden frame. The current top part, called the belfry, was added much later, between 1660 and 1736. The very top of the tower used to have fancy stone decorations. These were removed in the 1700s and replaced with railings.
Bell-ringers often lived in the third level of the tower. Mariano Folch was the last bell-ringer to live there. He worked with the bells for over sixty years and passed away around 1905.
In 1940, a new bell named Eloy was added to the tower. This bell came from the Santa Catalina bell tower. Adding Eloy changed the sound of all the bells together.
Modern Changes to the Tower
Over time, the Miguelete Tower and its bells have been repaired and updated. The Bell Ringers of the Cathedral of Valencia now take care of them. They get help from the Valencian Government and the City Council of Valencia.
Many changes have been made to the bell room. The iron parts that held the bells were replaced with wooden ones. The wooden windows, which help the sound travel, were also replaced. The platform where bell-ringers stand was made safer and higher. New electric wires and barred doors were added. These doors let visitors see inside the rooms even when they are closed.
The electronic systems that ring the bells automatically have been updated twice. This is because technology changes very fast.
The Bells of the Cathedral
The Valencia Cathedral has three groups of bells, each used for different things. The main bells are in the Miguelete Tower.
On the roof of the dome, there is an old signal bell. It is not used anymore.
In the Miguelete Tower, there are two clock bells. One rings for the quarter hours, and the other, El Miguelete, rings only for the full hours. The Miguelete bell is the largest bell used in the old Crown of Aragon. It was first made in 1418 but had to be remade several times. The current Miguelete bell was cast in 1539.
The Bell Room holds eleven bells from when the tower was first built. In old times, they were called "the five big ones and the six small ones." These bells are used for daily events, festivals, funerals, and special occasions. The oldest bell is Catherine, made in 1305. It is the oldest bell still used in the entire Crown of Aragon. The newest bell is Violante, from 1735.
Other bells include Ursula (1438), Barbara (1681), Paul (1489), and Narcissus (1529). The large bells are Vincent (1569), Andrew (1604), Manuel (1621), Jaime (1429), and María (1544).
The Miguelete Tower has one of the largest collections of Gothic bells in Spain. This includes two large Gothic bells (Catalina and Jaime) and six smaller Gothic bells.
Only the bells in the windows and the Miguelete clock bell are automatic. Barbara rings for the daily choir, Manuel rings to signal the closing of city gates, and María rings for prayers. These three bells can still be rung by hand.
Traditional Bell Ringing
For a long time, the Cathedral of Valencia had a written guide for how to ring its bells. This guide was part of the church's customs. Bells have been swinging and ringing since the mid-15th century. By the 16th century, the practice of ringing all the bells in a full circle became popular.
There were different ways to ring the bells for different times of day, week, and year. There were also special rings for funerals and festivals. The festival rings mostly used the five large bells. Other rings included those for storms or for closing the city gates.
Over the centuries, the bell ringing changed to fit the needs of the Cathedral and the city.
When the bells became electric, it changed many traditions. Some bells could no longer be rung by hand. The special "chorus peals" (where bells rang together in a certain way) disappeared. The funeral rings were also greatly reduced. The unique and ancient bell peals, which used to sound hundreds of times a year, stopped. This meant that the old ways of ringing were almost forgotten. The bells no longer played music to mark happy, sad, or daily events for the community.
Current Bell Ringing
Today, some bells can still ring automatically. However, after a big restoration in 1992, only Barbara's automatic ringing for the daily choir remained. Manuel (for closing city gates) and María (for prayers) can be rung by pulling a rope.
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So, there are two types of bell ringing now: automatic and manual.
- Automatic rings include prayer signals (María's bell), Manuel's bell for closing city gates, and Barbara's bell for the choir.
- Manual rings are done by the Bell Ringers of the Cathedral of Valencia. They are volunteers who keep the old traditions alive. They follow a special calendar for church holidays and events.
The bell ringers use ropes to turn the bells. This brings back old techniques of stopping and flipping the bells. This makes it easier to ring the bells safely.
Visiting the Tower
You can visit the Miguelete Tower every day of the year. You just need to buy a ticket from the Cathedral. After the Bell Ringers have finished their work, visitors can see the three rooms of the bell tower through barred doors. Then, you can continue up to the terrace for great views.
The Cathedral manages the tower visits, except for the bell room itself.
See also
In Spanish: El Miguelete para niños
