The Peace Bell

The inscription on the edge of the huge Peace Bell translates as ‘I ring for good neighbourly relations and for peace in the Alpine countries’. The cast bronze bell, which weighs more than ten tons, hangs motionless on an exposed hill at an elevation of some 1,300 metres above sea level on the edge of Mösern, the village fondly known as the Swallow’s Nest of Tyrol. From up here you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the Inn Valley. Part of this very view was immortalised by the artist Albrecht Dürer in a self-portrait he created following his first trip to Italy in 1498, in which a view seen through a window clearly depicts the Inn Valley. With a diameter of 2.54 metres and a height of 2.51 metres, the bell is truly an imposing sight to behold. Rung every day at 5 pm, its peal – a combination of the tones of D sharp, F sharp and A sharp – can be heard from far away.