Peace Carillon

The church tower of Park Abbey, towering high above the abbey site, immediately grabs your attention. Moreover, it houses the Peace Carillon, the largest musical instrument in the world. The 40 bells ring out daily, thanks to Abbey Carillonneur Luc Rombouts, whose skill and passion bring the carillon to life and make the melodies resonate far beyond Park Abbey. The Peace Carillon of Park Abbey is one of five carillons in Leuven.

Connect through culture

The old 18th century carillon of the Abbey with its forty bells was saved by the monks during the French era when they buried their bells in the grounds of the domain. Later, they swapped their good bells for the poor-sounding ones from St. Peter's Church, which they sold. In other words: the old abbey carillon hung in Saint Peter’s Church for a long time. Until the church tower was destroyed in the Leuven fire at the beginning of WWI. Partly at the hands of a battalion of soldiers from Neuss.

The original carillon was purchased in 1730 and moved to Saint Peter’s Church in 1811, where it was destroyed in the Leuven Fire in 1914. Reservists from the German city of Neuss turned out to be partly responsible for this. A century after Leuven and Neuss had faced each other as enemies, they decided to create a new peace carillon together, thus ‘connect through culture what was once separated by fire’. This was a unique project as the replica, consisting of 40 bells and weighing ten tonnes, was the very first reconstruction in history of a historic carillon.

Since 11 November 2018, the Peace Carillon has been sounding out over the domain of Park Abbey. Every quarter of an hour a melody is played, adapted to the time of the year and even to current events. On Wednesdays, the weekly carillon recitals of the abbey carillonneur create a special atmosphere on the abbey site and the surrounding area.

Practical information