Her Majesty Queen Máxima and the presidential couple visited the St. Salvator Church on June 5th where the Dutch gift, a new church bell, was unveiled and blessed. Most of the church bells in Prague were confiscated during the First and Second World Wars and melted down into weapons.
Forged in the Netherlands by Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry thanks to financial support from Dutch companies Huisman and NN Life insurance, the Freedom Bell symbolizes peace, solidarity, and the enduring values of freedom and unity.

Weighing 200 kilograms and measuring 69 centimeters in diameter, the bell is engraved with a biblical quote in Czech, Dutch, and Ukrainian. It also features an inscription stating that it was cast from the remnants of war materials.

The bell’s creation was initiated by Dutch Ambassador to Czechia, H.E. Daan Huisinga, in collaboration with Ondřej Boháč, vice-chairman of the Sanctus Castulus association. The project involved cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine that oversaw the collection of the weapon remnants, including a piece of a Russian S-300 missile, which was incorporated into the clapper, the bell’s steel heart. 

The bell is blessed by Tomáš Halík, priest of the St Salvator Church in Prague.

‘An important symbol’

‘Melting down the weapons of Russian aggressors into bells that carry the message of peace, freedom, and hope is an important symbol for this time of violence,’ says prof. Tomáš Halík. He is pastor of the Church of St. Salvator and also a professor at Charles University in Prague.
The St. Salvator Church in the heart of old Prague near Charles Bridge belong to the Academic Parish, which was founded after the fall of communism and has since been led by mr Halík, president of the Czech Christian Academy,  who for many years was active in the ‘underground church’ and anti-communist dissent. He was also a close friend and collaborator of Václav Havel.
The Academic Parish is one of the most vibrant and popular religious and cultural centers in the Czech Republic. It is also a center for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, and has been visited by the Dalai Lama and representatives of Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Shintoism. Over 2,000 adults, mainly university students, have been baptized here. Several prayer evenings for freedom in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land have been held here.

Replacing bells

The Freedom Bell marks another step in the broader effort by Sanctus Castulus to restore Prague’s bell fond. This includes replacing bells lost during world wars and project #9801 commemorating the 9,801 bells requisitioned by the Nazis during the World War II. St. Salvator Church has lost most of its bells since World War I, and the arrival of the Freedom Bell marks that while history is irreversible, the wrongs of the past
can be set right. The bell will be displayed in the church for several months before its final installation in the north tower, where it will hang sounding out over the Charles Bridge.