Thieves stole a historic bell standing near the church of the Berlin Evangelical parish of Berlin-Heinersdorf. It weighs about 500 kilograms. His disappearance was noticed on Sunday by parishioners going to the morning service.
Made in 1513, entirely of bronze and weighing about half a ton, the bell was last seen on the evening of July 13. His disappearance was noticed three days later. According to the editors of the Bild portal, the thieves could be persuaded to steal its “significant market value”. A kilogram of bronze, according to their findings, reaches the price of 4 euros at the purchase of metals. Thus, the sale of the entire bell could bring criminals around EUR 2,000 (equivalent to almost PLN 9,000).
Berlin. Bell weighing 500 kilograms stolen
– For us, the bell has primarily a sentimental value – admits parish pastor Anne-Kathrin Finke in an interview with the German portal. As he explains, the more than 500-year-old bell was “unsuitable for ringing” due to damage it suffered during World War II, but it was “a symbol of the history of the church”. For the last 50 years, the bell has been displayed on a brick pedestal in front of the presbytery building, near the church.
The pastor of the 720-member parish of Berlin-Heinersdorf hopes that “someone saw something suspicious” and will share his observations with the police. – After all, you can’t just take half a ton under your arm and carry it out – he argues. As he adds in an interview with the RTL portal, the loss of the bell is “painful not only for her, but also for the whole community.”
Main photo source: Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg/Twitter