Abstract
From 1561, the chiming of the Main Town Hall automatic carillon bells became a permanent component of the City of Gdańsk soundscape, to which, from 1575, were added the chimes of the St Catherine’s Church tower ‘striking device’ in the Old Town. The first automatic carillon comprised fourteen bells, whereas the other ‘device’ probably had several. It was not until 1738 that St Catherine’s Church acquired a large carillon with a keyboard as well as a mechanism for automatic playing. This article investigates the possible reasons why carillons were built for the Main Town Hall and St Catherine’s Church in Gdańsk, describes the bells and the mechanisms for automatic playing of both instruments and considers the repertoire by which their chiming filled the City of Gdańsk soundscape over the centuries.
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