All you need to know about the Glockenspiel

Several times a day, always at the full hour, groups of people gather on the Marienplatz in Munich to witness one of the city’s most famous sights: the Glockenspiel.

The carillon is installed in the tower of Munich’s New City Hall which was completed in 1909. With its 43 bells, it is actually one of the largest glockenspiels in Europe. From what we know, there are four carillons that are bigger than ours, and all of them can be found in Belgium. This would make the Munich Glockenspiel the largest non-Belgian glockenspiel in Europe.

Every day at 11 a.m., 12 p.m., and in the summer months additionally at 5 p.m., music will start playing before and while a total of 32 figures show historic scenes on two levels.

A remarkable 16th century wedding and the coopers’ dance

The upper level presents the wedding of future Duke Wilhelm V and his bride Renata of Lorraine in 1568. This couple truly knew how to party! The celebrations lasted more than two weeks and included massive feasts and amusements such as sleigh rides, fireworks and theater performances, all in honor of the bridal couple. One of the highlights was a joust, a knight's tournament that was held right on Marienplatz. The Bavarian knight, painted white and blue, takes it up with the knight from Lorraine in red and white. Who, do you think, will win the joust? We’re not giving it away, you will need to come and see for yourselves. 😉

The lower level shows the so-called Schäfflertanz, the dance of the coopers. After one of the many plague epidemics that would strike Munich in its history, people remained inside their houses as they were terrified by the Black Death. To lift their spirits, and to show them that it was safe to return to everyday life, the coopers went out on the streets where they started to sing and dance for everybody to hear. Legend has it that they repeated their traditional dance every seven years – that is roughly parallel to how frequently the plague came over Munich. And the Schäfflertanz still happens in our times! Every seven years, during lent and until Ash Wednesday, the Coopers will dance in several places in Munich. 2019 was the last time they danced, so normally we would have to wait until 2026 to see them again. But in 2022, they made a special appearance on Marienplatz to celebrate the decrease of the Covid pandemic.

Now here’s something that only insiders will know: There is a third play every day in the Glockenspiel. Every night at 9 p.m., the Münchner Kindl, the Munich Child - symbol of the city’s coat of arms - is sent to bed both by the night watchman and the Guardian Angel, with the bells playing a lullaby.