Bell-molding craftsmanship revived in Voronezh

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, where atheism was the official religion, new churches have sprung up all across Russia. That’s caused a renewed interest to the art of bell-making.

In Voronezh the Vera bell foundry (which means faith in English) opened in 1989 and has so far produced 20,000 bells.

Three weeks of a magical transformation. During this time, each bell goes through five main stages. First, the ceramic models go to the designers, who decorate them using latex and soldering irons to suit all tastes.

There are two secrets of the euphonious bronze bell – it’s mixture of copper and tin and the bell’s profile.

“After years of experience,” says  Valeriy Anisimov, Director of the company, “we can change the inner profile of a bell, the sides’ thickness, an angle of slope, thus altering a tone and sound vibration amplitude.”

One-kilogramme bells are merely souvenirs. Working bells range from three kilos to several tons. The biggest – a 35-ton bell, cast by the Vera company, was shipped to the Russian town of Zvenigorod.

Specialists at the Voronezh foundry assure clients that they could mould a hundred-and-twenty-ton bell, but there are no such orders. Each bell is described like a human-being: it has ears, shoulders, a body and even a tongue.

Many years ago, bells were insured for a year and two weeks, but these days all Vera bells are insured for a hundred years under a Certificate of Warranty.  Its founder and Director, Valeriy Anisimov, puts his finger-print on each bell to confirm the superior quality of the Voronezh master craftsmen. He also plans to open a museum of Russian bells.