Church bells and cowbells: Why do they constantly ring in Switzerland? (27-07-2008)

Expatriates hate the constant noise of cowbells and churchbells in Switzerland

A forum for English speaking people living in Switzerland currently runs a few discussions about church bell- and cowbell noise.

First, this photo (from Trogen, Switzerland) speaks more than a thousand church bell chimes:

The church bells are managed by the community (in other words they have the power to stop them), but the federal court made a ruling that should people within a certain distance complain, the communities are obliged to act and stop the bells during the night. They court upheld that the concept of "Nachtruhe" (silence during the night) is a long standing tradition in Switzerland that take precedence of any tradition of bell-ringing.

The communities tried to fight it, but the federal court made a second ruling underscoring the first. So the bottom line is that the communities can’t get away with it if people fight it – but they somehow manage to bury it and the bells keep ringing.

Note to anyone thinking of moving to Switzerland: When you look for an apartment ALWAYS check the location of the nearest church and make sure you wait around long enough to hear the bells – ask yourself if that is a volume you could tolerate.

Remember that even if you think the time chimes on the hour, quarter, half and three quarter hour are acceptable, that at certain times like 7am, they will ring all the bells constantly for an extended period.

Excellent advice to always check the location of the churches nearby! Otherwise you might get a very unpleasant surprise after moving in to your new flat. It is also important to be aware of the fact that in many villages and cities in Switzerland the bells ring for extended periods many times a day – in addition to the so called ‘Zeitschlag’ (the chime of the bells every quarter of an hour, 24 hours a day)!

The problem with the concept of "Nachtruhe", silence during the night, is: There seems to be none anymore, it seems to have lost any value with the Swiss people!
The registered association of the people fighting against the noise of church bells, ‘IG Stiller’ (Nachtruhe.info), stands up for the reintroduction of the Nachtruhe, the oldest of all traditions.

My first complaint in a yet an otherwise civilised country!
Church bells? Whats going on?

I moved to another temporary apartment last week and have continuously been woken up at 4 o’clock in the morning by church bells, it continues on every quarter and then at the top of the hour and then on to 6 , at which time i pass out from exhaustion!

Isn’t it a shame that foreign people find Switzerland basically a "civilised" country – if not for the constant church bell noise, that is…!?

These discussions are currently held on the noise of the church bells:
Englishforum.ch/daily-life/1140-why-do-bell-towers-ring
Englishforum.ch/complaints-corner/28353-whats-bells.html