Since the early Middle Ages, it was a common belief in the Alpine regions that lightning would not strike wherever the bell could be heard. While nobility and the church forbade the practice, the superstitious peasants forced their priests to keep tolling the bell.

Bells have accompanied us for millennia; in almost all cultures they ring out for births, deaths and celebrations. In the German-speaking sphere, its sound became an acoustic (near) monopoly of one institution; in Austria, this has been embedded in a legal order that has barely altered this since the era of Austro-Fascism.

This project separates the ringing of the bell from its pivotal role in the presence of the church and instead leads it into a new, independent structure. That places this religious symbol in a new context and at the same time opens a dialogue about outdated power monopolies in order to make a contribution to a gradual re-democratisation of the public sphere.

The bell tolls on Wednesdays from 4pm onwards to announce, call together and occupy.