The origins of the collection date back to the activities of Flóris Rómer (1815–1889), a major figure in Hungarian museology and archaeology in the 19th century. Despite the early beginnings, only 8 bells made up the museum's collection until 1915. In 1916, during the so-called requisitions of bells for cannon casting during the First World War, the collection grew by at least 27 bells. The bells from before 1700 A.D. that had been brought to the foundry were handed over to the museum. Thanks to this, the collection now also includes bells from remote parts of the country and from settlements that no longer belong to Hungary
Contact: Dr. Etele Kiss, kiss.etele@hnm.hu
The composition of the collection
The collection of 46 bells was damaged by the devastation of the Second World War, with several bells melted in a fire in the museum's lapidarium. The earliest piece in the collection is a bell from Szentábrahám (now Avrămești, Romania), probably from around the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, without a precise date. There are several bells from the 15th century, including some dated pieces, but most are from the 16th and 17th centuries, with a few later ones in the collection.
Most of the bells bear the inscription "O rex gloriae veni cum pace" (O King of glory, come in peace), but often the names of the foundrymen, the commissioner and the community that used them appear on the inscriptions. Most of the bells are on display in the Castle Museum of the Hungarian National Museum in Esztergom, and some are in the public areas of the Hungarian National Museum building.
One of the earliest pieces of the Hungarian National Museum's Church Bell Collection, dating from the 14th-15th centuries, it bears the frequent inscription O REX GLORIE VENI CUM PACE ("King of Glory, come in peace") and simple ribbed reinforcements.
The bell was purchased by the museum from Betlenfalva (now Betlanovce, Slovakia). Its Latin inscription mentions the year of its creation, 1499, and the patron saints of the village's still-standing Catholic church, the medical brothers St Cosmas and Damian, and the Virgin Mary, in whose honour the bell was cast. (ET SIC EST FACTUM INHONORE BEATE MARIE VIRGINIS ET SANCTE KOSMA ET DOMIANE 1499) The landlords of the village at this time were the Thurzós, who hence got their first name "Bethlenfalvi".
