Pastor Anne-Kathrin Finke at the place where the bell stood for 50 years Photo: Ralf Gunther
By Sylvia Jost
The case sounds almost too unbelievable to be true: the old church tower bell was stolen from the Protestant parish of Berlin-Heinersdorf! It weighs half a ton!
The shock was great when some parishioners noticed on Sunday morning before the service: the vicarage behind the village church, where the bell from 1513 stood on a pedestal, was empty.
This bell was stolen from the vicarage of the Evangelical parish of Berlin-Heinersdorf Photo: Evangelical Church in Berlin-Heinersdorf
It hasn’t been in the bell tower since the 1970s because it was badly damaged in World War II. She had two bullet holes and was no longer playable. “But it was a landmark for our 800-year-old church,” says Pastor Anne-Kathrin Finke (62).
The thieves, however, probably saw the market value: the bell is made of bronze. “The price of the metal is currently around 4 euros per kilo,” said a Berlin scrap dealer to the BZ
The bell was last seen on July 13 at 7 p.m. In the next two days she must have been secretly taken away.
The parish (720 parishioners) reported the theft. Now the pastor hopes that someone has seen something suspicious: “After all, you can’t just stick half a ton under your arm.”