Русский ремесленник

Delicate and pure sound of the Valdai bell mellifluous rights for over 500 years. You've heard their melodious ringing? Do you know the history of these bells came to us from the depths of the centuries?
Beautiful legend says that Valdai bells appeared in 1478. It was then on the orders of Tsar Ivan III, Sofia belfry was removed Novgorod veche bell, and sent to Moscow to sound, he agrees with all the Russian bells and preached to more than freemen. But as far as Moscow has not got a prisoner. At one of the slopes of the Valdai mountain sled, which carried a bell, rolled down, the frightened horses dashed off at a gallop, the bell fell off the wagon, and falling into a ravine, smashed to smithereens. From the debris and were cast early Valdai bells.

Another popular belief (and there are many) began a bell cast in Valdai to the XVII century. In 1656 tsar Alexander Grigoriev master cast in Iver monastery Nikon bell. The rest of the cast bronze bell master gave him helped valdashes. Since then, they say, and pour in Valdai bell.
Bell may have shed in the XVII century. But what is called Valdai (ie yamschitskim) bell, there is no earlier than the II half of XVIII century. Yamschitskie bells were primarily needed in the main, very busy road Russia - Moscow-Petersburg highway. Center of production arose in Valdai, located in the middle of this tract. Local craftsmen were famous for their published articles v blacksmith in the forge and began to cast the first Valdai bells.
At the beginning of the XIX century. there were special bell workshops and factories. First, known to us, subscriptions bells are dated 1802. Under this year appear on products of Philip Terek, Alexei Smirnov, Ivan Smirnov, Nikita Smirnov. It is recognized that the Valdai is the first center of casting yamschitskih bells. The technology of their production is different from the casting of church bells and worked out for the first time in Russia that we can call yamschitsky bell (and first Valdaysky) exclusively in Russian, a national phenomenon.
Following yamschitskie Valdai bells began to ebb in Slobodskom Vyatka province, Tyumen, city of Kasimov, Ryazan province, pp. Pureh Nizhny Novgorod province and others.
Yamschitsky bell was a signal instrument determines the safety of movement, as well as a musical instrument that accompanied the singing of the driver. Bell predetermined rhythm of the horses, then adjusting them, then giving them the opportunity to relax in a measuring step.
Bell announces in advance the approximation of the crew to the station and performed another set of those functions, without which it would be impossible to a normal existence in a Russian traveler road.
As already mentioned, the history of the Valdai bell cast by the end of the XIX century existed in oral tradition, so the main source for the study of this question are themselves bells and bell set on them inscriptions, dates, names of smelters. Valdai bell has a strict, well-established, unchanging (the classic "Valdai") form, which is based on the ratio of equal height and diameter, which creates the impression of stability. Bell denied the decoration itself, which reinforces the impression of simplicity, ruggedness, functionality, products and the most important symbolic value v inscriptions, invariably set at the same spot on the bottom edge of the bell, called the local master "skirt." Vaguely, and soft forms, especially construction of a sloping top of the pan, which is called the "shoulders" and the very word of mouth, "and especially" skirt "underscore not just anthropomorphism Valdai bell, and say openly that it is modeled with a woman dressed in a Russian dress . The peculiarity of the loop for hanging the language, he forged a language, indispensable grooves along the body there, interspersed with non-machined rough belts, make Valdai bell recognizable.
Preference for the Valdai bell (despite the fact that it was very expensive) was the high quality of products (I use the most high-grade copper Urals), beauty of sound, sustainable and traditionalism in all, starting with the legend of the birth of the veche bell from Novgorod bell.