Carillon in Berlin-Tiergarten

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The Carillon in Berlin-Tiergarten is located in a free-standing tower next to the House of World Cultures ("Haus der Kulturen der Welt") and near the Chancellery in the northeastern part of Berlin's central Tiergarten park. It is a large manually played concert instrument composed of 68 bells, weighing a total of 48 metric tonnes and connected to a keyboard spanning 5 1/2 fully chromatic octaves. The largest bell weighs 7.8 tonnes. The carillon was cast by the Royal Dutch foundry Eijsbouts according to the specifications of Carillonneur Jeffrey Bossin. It is one of the largest instruments of its kind in Europe and approximately the fourth largest (by number of bells) in the world. The carillonneur sits in a playing cabin in the middle of the bells and plays with his fists and feet on a baton-and-pedal keyboard. The purely mechanical action makes it possible to play all dynamic gradations from very soft to very loud.

The Berlin carillonneur, Jeffrey Bossin, plays concerts on the carillon every Sunday from the beginning of May until the end of September, and on the more important national holidays, at 3 p.m., in December at 2 p.m. The programs include music written for the carillon and arrangements of classical works and popular songs. Tours of the carillon tower, including a unique view of Berlin and its government buildings, are offered at the end of the concerts. In English or German, the carillonneur guides groups through the tower, answers questions, explains the special features of the instrument and recounts the history of the carillon in Berlin from its beginnings under the first King of Prussia to the reunification of Germany. He demonstrates the instrument's playing technique and plays a work for carillon on the keyboard.