Oradour-sur-Glane Church Bells
The bronze bells in the church tower
melted from the intense heat of the fire inside the church which
had spread to the tower. Today, the bells are displayed inside
the church, near the front door, as shown in the photo above.
On the right side of the photo above is the wooden front door
which is not the original door. The ceiling above the bells is
still intact, so the bells could not have fallen from the tower
into the church.
The photo below shows the melted bells
in the foreground with the front door in the background. Notice
that the front door opens inward.The large pot near the door
is the holy water font. Devout Catholics entering the church
would dip their fingers in the holy water and then make the sign
of the cross. Notice that the floor of the church is made of
stone and the walls are granite. There was not much that would
burn inside the church, except the wooden pews. The second photo
below shows a close-up of the melted bells. The iron bar that
held the two bells did not melt.
Notice in the photo above that the melted
bells are resting on some broken stones; the stone in the foreground
appears to have a bit of the melted bronze on it. This indicates
that the bells fell onto some stones in another location and
both the bells and the stones were transported to this location
inside the church. The floor of the church, underneath the bells,
is undamaged.
The photo below shows a close-up of the
engraving on the bells.
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