Sacred Architecture
Bell towers and churchyard structures
well attested
Bell tower, Wooden bell tower, Gate bell tower, Campanile
What is a wooden bell tower?
A wooden bell tower is a structure for hanging bells. It may be separate from the church, incorporated into churchyard gates, or part of a building, but in Lithuania's wooden sacred architecture separate churchyard towers are especially visible.
A bell tower must be not only beautiful but acoustically effective. Upper openings let bell sound spread, while the structure has to withstand the weight and movement of bells.
History
Bell towers in Lithuania began to be built from the early period of Christian architecture. Wooden bell towers survived as an important feature of smaller churches and rural churchyards. According to VLE, bell towers in Lithuania began to be built in the fifteenth century; one of the oldest surviving examples is the bell tower of the Basilian monastery in Vilnius, dating to the early sixteenth century and rebuilt in the second half of the eighteenth century. In Europe, the oldest surviving bell towers, separate multi-tier towers, date to the ninth century, and from the thirteenth century they began to be attached to buildings.
Palūšė, Stelmužė, and other known bell towers show that this structure can be no less valuable than the church itself.
Construction
A wooden bell tower is often tower-like and built in several stages. The lower part is stronger, while sound openings are placed in the upper part. The roof may be hipped, pyramidal, helmet-shaped, or another form.
Bells required a special frame, so the internal construction matters as much as the outer silhouette.
Role in the ensemble
Together with the church, churchyard, gates, and crosses, the bell tower creates a sacred landscape. It marks the place by sound and by sight.
For that reason, restoration should preserve the tower's relationship with the churchyard instead of removing it into an abstract museum setting without context.
