UBC October 2026 - Timeless Summer

Photo Credit: Balthasar Zuckschwerdt

This summer, strange things were happening around here. Time went on strike, so to speak.

Our local church bell in Staufen, which is where I live, and the train station clock in Aarau both stopped telling time.

Anyone who listened to the Staufberg Church's hourly chime this summer probably noticed that something was off. For those unfamiliar with this very Swiss way of keeping track of time: church bells traditionally chime every 15 minutes. After the first quarter hour, the small bell rings once; at the half-hour, twice; and at the three-quarter hour, three times. At the top of the hour, we hear four quarter-hour chimes, followed by the larger bell striking the number of the current hour.

At least, that's how it's supposed to work.

The quarter-hour chimes could still be heard reliably, but at the top of the hour, something was missing. We heard the four quarter-hour chimes, but then the actual hour bell remained silent. For weeks, the chime seemed incomplete.

The summer of 2026 was a real test not only for people and gardens. Even a wooden bell frame can react to extreme heat and prolonged drought. Wood releases moisture and expands and contracts, and for a structure that has had to withstand wind, weather, and the dynamic movements of heavy bells for centuries, this can have noticeable consequences. Perhaps this also explains why, in July in Staufen, the quarter-hour chimes could be heard, but not the full-hour chimes.

The company that maintains our bells came out to take a look. Twice, in fact. It took them a while, but eventually they fixed it, and our bell was back to telling us what time it was.

Let's continue with the other clock that seemed to have decided it didn't want to show the time. What happened? Were the hands stolen by Houdini or something?

I did some digging and found out that the hands had been removed on April 27 and would be reinstalled “in due course” once the mechanical overhaul was complete. Since removing the hands, which weigh approximately 150 kilograms, requires a crane and lifting platforms and is a very labor-intensive process, the clock was expected to remain without hands for several weeks while the overhaul was completed.

We were already having some trouble with this clock when it was first installed back in 2010. They had forgotten to illuminate the clock hands and had to rectify the situation.

We were also under the impression that it was the largest clock in Europe — 9 meters in diameter and three storeys high. Until a French guy came forward.

“Ours in Cergy-Saint-Christophe, just outside Paris, measures 10 meters,” he claimed.

Ooohps!

Bonus picture: This is what the clock usually looks like:

So, apparently, on August 10, without so much as getting the news out to me, they reinstalled the hands. And this is what it looked like:

Photo Credit: Aargauer Politik

Did the bell and the clock have a message for us?

Maybe they were telling us to slow down and smell the roses or something.

What do you think?