Grassmayr Bell Museum

Discover over 400 years of bell-making history at the Grassmayr Bell Museum in Innsbruck, Austria. Experience traditional craftsmanship, view historical exhibits, and learn about the acoustics of bells.

Planning your visit

The Grassmayr family have been casting bells since 1599, through fourteen generations, and the foundry in Innsbruck is still working — which is what separates this from a museum of dead crafts. The exhibition covers over 400 years of the trade: the moulding process using clay, loam and animal hair, the casting itself, the tuning that shapes a bell's overtones, and the mathematics behind why a bell sounds as it does.

The acoustics section is genuinely interesting. Bells produce several distinct partial tones simultaneously, and tuning them into a harmonious relationship is precision metalwork done by removing metal from the inside of the finished casting. Visitors can strike bells of different sizes and profiles to hear the differences directly, and there is a sound room designed for listening rather than looking.

Whether the working foundry is visible depends on the production schedule, so the museum is the reliable part of the visit.

It sits just south of Innsbruck's centre, straightforward to reach. Allow an hour. The main booking is an entry ticket. Current availability is shown below.