Glockenspiel (Carillon), Graz

In Glockenspielplatz 4 one can find the Carillon. Come dance with me! And dance they do! Three times a day, at 11 am, 3pm, and 6 pm. A young maiden and a strapping boy emerge from their gable hideouts. Dressed in traditional costumes they dance to the melodies of the 24 bells of the carillon.

Wine and spirits dealer Gottfried Maurer bought a house in Fliegenplatz square in 1884. Herr Maurer traveled a lot for business, mostly to North Germany and Belgium. In his travels he had become fascinated by carillons. So he had a carillon installed in his new house in Graz. The bells tolled for the first time on Christmas Eve in 1905.

In 1929 Herr Maurer willed the glockenspiel to the city of Graz, provided that the mechanism be maintained in perpetuity. World War II silenced the bells for a while. They were melted down for armaments. Finally, in 1956, the music of the carillon was restored.

The carillon plays three times every day but the tunes are not always the same. Changing the positions of the 800 pins on the carillon barrel produces new melodies. One can have Alpine, Folk, yodeling, Christmas carols, modern airs but no Rap. The two tireless dancers never fail to appear, twirling, smiling and always in tempo.

As the music approaches its climax, a golden rooster appears above the dancers, crowing his approval. Herr Maurer wanted a rooster like the one he saw in Munich. He got it.