GIVING THE PAST A FUTURE
Digital technologies have entered many areas of life and the associated radical changes do not stop at the preservation and maintenance of cultural heritage, one of our core tasks at the DKB FOUNDATION.
The 13th-century Feldstein Church is Liebenberg's oldest building and was probably one of the first permanent buildings in the settlement. The stones found in the cultivation of the surrounding landscape served as building material. Its neo-gothic tower, which the landlord Philipp Graf zu Eulenburg rebuilt following a fire at the end of the 19th century, still dominates the castle courtyard today.
In 1894, the Berlin clockmaker Richter built a tower clock with two bells. During the course of the abandonment of the building in 1985, the smaller of these bells was sold, along with the organ, the altar and its painting, the pulpit, the stalls and other movable inventory to different parishes, and is now located in a church in Neuholland.
Larger-scale renovation measures for the preservation of the listed church building were only taken in 1992/1993 and the first restoration of the tower clock according to old plans took place in 1993.
Now, 25 years after the original restoration, the clock is being made sustainable for long-term use with its conversion to an electronic system.
The maintenance of a tower clock, such as at the Liebenberg Church, is complex and difficult. Careful attention is especially required in the maintenance of the striking mechanisms and their cables as these can become overstretched and break. In order to significantly reduce the cost of the operation and maintenance without changing the historical mechanism, from July 2018, in cooperation with the community of Falkental, the tower clock and striking mechanism will be converted to an electronic system and the clock controlled by a radio receiver.
Measures taken:
The clock and the striking mechanism will be equipped with an electric motor and an electronic control. The striking mechanism will then strike every half hour and on the hour.
The bell will also receive an electronic control and a linear drive, which will significantly reduce maintenance, mechanical vibrations, and building stress.
These measures will take place between August and December 2018.