Hans Falk (bellfounder)
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Hans Falk, (probably
The name of Hans Falk, as a
A German scholar Adam Olearius, who travelled through Russia in the 1630s, mentions Hans Falk in his book Beschreibung der muscowitischen und persischen Reise, saying that he was a very experienced craftsman from Nuremberg and taught Russians how to cast cannons. Adam Olearius also says that Falk was able to make cannons that could discharge 26 pounds (11.8 kg) of iron with 25 pounds (11.3 kg) of gunpowder. According to Olearius, this is what made Hans Falk famous in Holland.
In Russia he kept his techniques secret, dismissing his Russian assistants at certain crucial parts of the process.[1]
In 1641, Mikhail Fyodorovich ordered Hans Falk to cast a 700-
Hans Falk worked in Russia for more than 25 years. He rarely affixed signatures on his works; therefore, only a few bells can be attributed to Falk:
- a bell for the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir (1632)
- a bell for the Annunciation Cathedral in Kazan (1640; signed by Falk)
- a bell for the Trinity Church in Nikitniki (1649; it is now a part of the State Historical Museum collection)
- a bell for the belfry of the Savva Storozhevsky Monastery near Zvenigorod (1652)
- a bell for the Transfiguration Cathedral in Yaroslavl (signed by Falk)
- possibly, the 35-pood (570 kg) Rodionovsky bell on the Ivan the Great Bell Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, cast in 1647
It is also known that Hans Falk recast one of the bells for the Ivan the Great Bell Tower and cast the Yunak
It is not clear how Hans Falk's service at the Moscow Cannon Yard came to an end. He could have returned to his motherland, when his services were no longer needed, or he could have died of
References
- ISBN 978-1-4008-5463-9. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
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