Das Glockenspiel ist fertig: the glockenspiel is complete.
It was a crisp, cool Tuesday afternoon in downtown Regina where citizens gathered to celebrate the completion of upgrades to the city’s glockenspiel in City Square Plaza.
To mark the event, people listened to the instrument’s bells ring across downtown at lunch time.
Upgrades include updated electronic programming which is used to operate the instrument.
John Findura, Ward 5 councillor, said the updated design will help ensure the glockenspiel will withstand frigid temperatures and strong Saskatchewan winds.
“In addition to celebrating arts, music, culture and heritage, the glockenspiel is a sign of collaboration,” said Findura.
“This will be a lasting landmark in the heart of our city and contribute significantly to the cultural vibrancy of our downtown.”
Alvin Knoll, a board member of the Regina German Club, shared some history at Tuesday’s celebration about how the glockenspiel became a part of downtown Regina in the first place.
It was 1984 when a proposal to the Regina Multicultural Council was made on behalf of members of Regina’s German community for a bell tower or glockenspiel to be erected near the city centre.
By January of 1985, active planning was underway between the city, the Regina Multicultural Council and the city’s German community.
After correspondence with a company in Germany, the glockenspiel left Hanover, Germany, for a three-month journey to Regina, which Knoll said was at a cost of 2,400 Deutschmarks at the time. It was then installed in 1986 in Victoria Park.
The glockenspiel was taken down back in 2010 when City Square Plaza was being built.
In 2018, $350,000 was set aside to restore the instrument in the 2018 city budget.
It was eventually reinstalled and reintroduced to the public in 2020 where it now stands in the northeast corner of the downtown plaza.