Thirteen Tons of Christmas Music Fun

Carillons, like the famous medieval bells in Prague’s Loreta, are traditionally contained in a church belfry. Mobile ones are a bit more of a rarity, which makes the Travelling Carillon of Prague (Pražská mobilní zvonohra) , a 3.9-meter-high, 13-ton, 57-bell instrument that must be transported via Renault Magnum truck, one of the Czech Republic’s lesser-known holiday attractions.

This year the concert carillon will once again embark on its yuletide season tour of Prague and the Czech Republic. From Dec 16-Dec 26 this concert on wheels will make performance stops at both high-profile venues (Old Town Square, a boat on the Vltava) and outer bouroughs (Prague 5, 9, and 11).

The carillon gave its first concert at Prague Castle in September 2011. It was commissioned in the early ’90s as part of the Prague City of Culture initiative. It was constructed collaboratively by artists and foundries in Belgium, The Netherlands, and the Czech Republic.

The carilloneurs who play the bells – musicians from a number of different EU countries – strike a mechanical keyboard that is connected to levers that activate the clappers inside of the bells.

Visitors be warned: the setting, bell carols, and the accompanying light show make for almost too much holiday merriment to handle!