House of the Glockenspiel
Two old warehouses were rebuilt in 1922-24 by Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge for the Bremen-America-Bank, the company bank of Kaffee HAG.
Located here today are the Archive, the Böttcherstrasse administrative offices (Verwaltung der Böttcherstraße GmbH), the hairdresser Luca Rizzo, the art cinema Filmkunsttheater Atlantis, the Designbüro Möhlenkamp, an advertising agency, and - of course - the famous chiming bells of the renown Glockenspiel.
The Glockenspiel
The thirty Meissen porcelain bells - blue on the outside and gold-plated on the inside - rang out for the first time in May 1934. In unique concert with these chiming bells was a rotating tower in the wall between the Glockenspiel and the Roselius Houses. On this tower were ten carved and painted wooden panels of well-known conquerors of the ocean. The motifs were designed by Bernhard Hoetger at the behest of Ludwig Roselius, who wanted to express once more on Böttcherstrasse the pioneering spirit and boundless energy of mankind.
After partial destruction of the bells during World War II, a second set was made and installed in 1954. These bells were all white. Following a comprehensive restoration in 1991 (which included the wooden panels), a third set of chimes - once again made of 30 Meissen porcelain bells - was restrung between the gables of the two houses.
Chiming times:
From January 1st to May 31st at 12 noon, 3pm, and 6pm.
From April 1st to December 31st every hour on the hour between 12 noon and 6pm.
Audiodatei abspielen