A deafening noise invades the belfry of the cathedral of Lausanne. La Clémence, one of the building’s seven bells, rings for the first time in centuries. With his right hand, the watchman Renato Häusler vigorously throws the heavy clapper against the vase. Shortly after 10 p.m., for five minutes, the venerable bell (which weighs 3.6 tonnes) vibrates to the rhythm of three strokes, pause, six strokes, pause, and so on. He asks us to signal him when the five minutes have passed. For him too, this is a first!
“Once the alert was given, the bell set the pace to support and encourage those fighting the fire”
This symbolic action calls the people of Lausanne to solidarity and mutual aid in these troubled times. “It’s as if the cathedral is thinking of the world’s misfortunes,” says Renato Häusler just after this first ring (in C). He will repeat the action every night, tirelessly, until the end of the coronavirus epidemic. A nod to medieval tradition: during the fires that raged in the capital, the alarm bell rang until the disaster was extinguished. “After the alert went off, the bell set the pace to support and encourage those fighting the fire.”
It is not known when the Clémence, melted in 1518, last sounded. Before her, another bell probably sounded many times, devastating fires were not uncommon in the Middle Ages. “We know that a meeting was held in 1405 to decide how to react in the event of a disaster. It was on this date, November 4, 1405, that the first mention of the watch dates back, details Renato Häusler. The last major fire alarm dates from 1446. Afterwards, we don’t know. ”
The idea of ringing the Clémence emerged at the start of the week, when the City of Lausanne was thinking of a symbolic action. “At the start, there was talk that I would say something after the time was announced. But that would not be heard very far. And right now, there aren’t many people on the streets. ” The return to medieval tradition makes it possible to encourage the people of Lausanne, far and wide, in this fight against the coronavirus.
Created: 27.03.2020, 23h57
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