about handbells.eu

Since the beginning of 1992 I, Jörn Diedrichsen, actively play in the handbell choir of the Adventist Church in Hamburg. As part of a study trip to Berlin in 1999, I played for half a year in the Peace Bell Choir Caputh as a guest. So I had the opportunity to actively get to know another handbell choir.

In 1992 there was a meeting of German hand bell choirs in Krummhörn, East Frisia. There were concerts given by the individual handbell choirs in the surrounding churches and at the end of the meeting there was a big concert together with all the handbell choirs. Here each handbell choir could play one or two pieces from his repertoire. In addition, there were also pieces in which all handbell choirs have performed together.
This was a good opportunity to meet other handbell choirs. Unfortunately, there has not been another meeting of this kind since.

Since the handbell choirs are not organized in Germany, there is no overview of how many handbell choirs there are in Germany as a whole. The information in the overview is mainly based on information from the former handbell meeting and from other information that I have heard over time.

With handbells.eu I hope to be able to create a small overview of the handbell choirs in the internet. Maybe you also discover a handbell choir in your area that you did not know about before. In addition, I would like to gather concert dates on this website. Maybe this will give you the opportunity to be in the audience at another handbell choir.
Although I often play in handbell concerts, I rarely have the opportunity to (only) listen to a handbell concert.

Jörn Diedrichsen, April 28th, 2000

In the meantime a lot has changed. The list of handbell choirs has grown significantly in the last few months. However, this is not so much due to the fact that there were many new handbell choirs founded this year, but more because the already existing handbell choirs had to be found first.

Also I finished my studies and moved to Stuttgart some time ago, where I work nearby. As a result, unfortunately, I can no longer actively play in the handbell choir of the Adventist Church in Hamburg, the distance to attend the individual rehearsals is a bit too far. In the meantime, I no longer actively play handbells myself. But with handbells I remain connected, not least here with these pages. And maybe I'll play in a new handbell choir again. That would be the third, which I may get to know actively.

Jörn Diedrichsen, October 14th, 2001

After more than three years, it is time for me to write again. The list of handbell choirs has grown only slowly in recent years. The gains were primarily newly established handbell choirs. The existing handbell choirs, as far as they are present in public, I seem to have found by now.

In the meantime it has turned out that my statement, to perhaps ring again in a handbell choir, has come true. I am now playing handbells in the Patch Barrack's Handbell Choir.

I am curious to see how the handbell landscape in Germany and the surrounding countries will continue to develop.

Jörn Diedrichsen, January 1st, 2005

More than 18 years ago, the website handglocken.de went online. Over the years, the list of handbell choirs in Germany grew and later additionally an overview of handbell choirs from other European countries followed.
The website has been completely redesigned in the last few weeks and both lists have been merged. New are interactive maps to visualize the locations of the different handbell choirs. In addition, most of the content is now also available in English.

Jörn Diedrichsen, November 18th, 2018