Konojedy a Levínsko
Levin Bell Tower
The small town of Levín is located in a picturesque area above Habřinský
stream, not far from the town of Úštěk On the town square is an interesting
baroque church, Povýšení Svatého Kříže (Ascention of the Holy Cross). On
the nearby hill named Turmberg, in 1699, a bell tower was built on the site of
an old castle or fortified settlement, the bell tower still dominates the area.
It has been recently reconstructed and serves as a watchtower over the nearby
areas.
Levín was first mentioned in history in 1352, when it was the seat of the
parish. Not much is known about the castle, which dated from the middle of the
13th century. It was mentioned in 1538, when a „piece of forest next to the
vineyard on the castle in Hradišti under Levín“ was sold. Evidently, the
castle had already been destroyed for some time and the ruins were being damaged
further by building vineyards on and around them.
The bell tower, which was in good repair, was built using stone from the castle
ruins. A bell-shaped wooden roof was placed on the stone base. The tower was
subject to lightning strikes in early times. Four people lost their lives while
ringing warnings of impending lightning storms. In 1833, lightning struck the
tower again and set it on fire. The tower was then reconstructed, and an
additional level was added. In 1899 a new slate roof was put on, the top of the
tower was fitted with a lightning rod, and the entire tower was plastered. There
were up to three bells in the tower. On one was written in Latin „AVE MARIE
GRACIA PLENA“. This bell apparently came from the parish church of
Liebeschitzer. The second bell was cast in 1844 by Franc Gold from
Litoměřice, and the third bell was donated in 1872 by pastor A. Prochazka, to
replace an earlier bell that was stolen. In the First World War, the second and
third bells were removed from the tower, and only the first with its
old-fashioned Latin inscription has survived to the present day.
Leevin – bell tower
