Local resident sues church

Agreement reached in Salzburg church bell dispute

The bells of the church's 42-metre-high bell tower visible from the outside.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

A Salzburg resident sued the archdiocese because the ringing of the nearby Herrnau parish church was too loud. In the civil proceedings, both sides agreed to make adjustments: Every half hour, for example, there is now only one "Ding Dong".

It no longer rings so loudly in Herrnau. And not as often either. This was agreed by the two parties involved in the civil proceedings on Tuesday: on the one side, a resident of the Salzburg parish church in the Herrnau district, represented by a lawyer. On the other side, the Salzburg archdiocese with its lawyer Gerhard Lebitsch.

Bells as loud as construction site noise
It was not the first clash: in 2023, the Salzburg resident - himself a churchgoer and long a member of the parish council - filed a lawsuit for injunctive relief and damages. "It's not about the ringing itself," emphasizes the plaintiff's lawyer. Rather, it's about the volume and frequency. "It's extremely loud for some neighbors, more than 80 decibels. It's constant construction site noise."

But it wasn't always like this: it was only when the bell tower was renovated in 2020 that the bells were much louder, according to the plaintiff. According to the plaintiff's lawyer, the reason is the mechanics of the new chimes. Lebitsch counters: "The hourly chime has become neither louder nor more annoying."

New rules for bell ringing
In July, the plaintiff and defendant met with their lawyers in court for the first time. An initial compromise was reached: the bells of the church in honor of Saint Erentrudis no longer ring every quarter of an hour, but only every hour and every half hour - on weekdays between 7 am and 8 pm, on Sundays and public holidays from 8 am. This has now been tightened up a little: the eight introductory chimes to mark the hour have been omitted. On Saturdays, the bell is rung as on public holidays. And the hour and half-hour chimes will now only be struck with the smaller bell. In other words, only one "Ding Dong", the judge recorded.

This is to be implemented at least by December 10: "So that we have Christmas peace before Christmas," said Lebitsch.