St. Martin

Sixth bell permanent reminder of the Shooting Festival

KESSENICH - Thanks to the Royal Shooting Guild St. Martinus Kessenich, this village on the Meuse now has a new church bell after almost a hundred years. The colossus of 270 kilograms was funded with part of the profits from the Old Limburg Shooting Festival (OLS) 2003. The new bell will soon find a permanent place in the St. Martinus Church of Kessenich.

The shooting world and the Roman Catholic Church have always been closely connected. In Kessenich, it is no different. The shooting guild St. Martinus made a special effort for the church and the parish. The association had a new church bell cast, which includes the name of the shooting guild and a reference to the successful OLS 2003. That major event literally took place in the shadow of the St. Martinus Church.

In 2002, the shooting guild St. Martinus brought d’n Um from Ellikom to Kessenich. As a result, the village worked hard to make it a success of an OLS. This cultural historic highlight became the culmination for the village and certainly for the organizing shooting guild.

To keep an original souvenir from the OLS 2003, ideas were requested. Ultimately, St. Martinus chose to purchase and install a new bell. The current one, which was discarded by the white town of Thorn in 1920 and then came to Kessenich, is worn out and sounds terribly out of tune.

The new bell was made in the Netherlands by the firm Petit & Fritsen from Aarle-Rixtel. It was briefly in Kessenich in September to be viewed but then went back across the border for adjustments.

"The suspension of the old bell had to serve for the new one," explains secretary Jacky Hermans of the church factory Kessenich. "On the occasion of a walking and biking day of the municipality and the Open Monument Day, we thought it appropriate to present this long-awaited bell to the general public. The old bell was still hanging in the tower at that time. Afterwards, this bell was removed, the suspension was dismantled, and together with the new bell taken to the Netherlands. There, the makers ensured the suspension for the new shooting bell. In the meantime, the new version is back in the village."

The bell received the following inscription: "Shooting bell donated by the Royal Shooting Guild St. Martinus Kessenich, winner OLS 2002." This bell will resound in Kessenich and surrounding areas around Christmas.

JanneG