Does anybody know why the bells ring at 7 o'clock everyday? Is it something that only happens in this area or do they ring all over Switzerland? I also have heard them ringing at 11am too.

They ring in Basel at 7 in the morning as well as 7 in the evening on weekdays. I don't know about the evenings but in the mornings I imagine it is to get you out of bed as traditionally people would not have alarm clocks. The bells go a bit mad in Basel during weekdays at 12 noon though sometimes before that at 11 but I don't know why.

Seems you aren't the only one to be disturbed by the bells: Whats with the bells?

It's part of Swiss life and Catholic cantons seem to have a more than a smattering of churches with clanging bells at all hours of the day.

I don't mind hearing them, my daughter always says 'dong' when she hears them and we count the chimes on the hour so I guess you could say they are assisting with her counting.

I am just curious why it happens.

think they were asking why at 7pm, I have often thought the same, the bells next to me ring every day for 15 mins at 11am and 7pm and then random times the rest of the week, for example some days they ring at 7pm and then not again that evening, other days they ring again for 15 ins at 7.30pm, i am baffled as to the order and reason for the bell ringing, does anyone know?

Not being a churchgoer, I'm not sure about this, but perhaps there's a service at 7pm? That's what I've always assumed when I've heard the bells at odd times of the day.

I think it is a traditional thing from way back when they didn't have alarm clocks and the church bells were designed to wake you up and beckon you to the fields to work.

In the UK we used cockerels who cockadoodledoo'd you awake. They were known as alarm cocks. (That bit is totally fabricated ).

I don't think there is a service at our church EVERY day at 11am and 7pm - and god (excuse the pun) knows what the reason is for the random ringing during the rest of the day. And also I know this has been discussed to death but why is the bell ringing so tuneless? 'ding, ding, ding.......' etc..... why can't they be nice and tuneful like the nice village church bells in English villages - sorry cities and towns as well I am just reflecting on the church bells in the village I grew up - which incidentally only rang on sundays, weddings and bell practice, not every bleedin day!

must be great then to get a lie in till 11am and then be awoken by the 11am bells maybe the swiss do 11am to 7pm hours rather than the norm of 9 till 5

Besides the more obvious things like Church Services, Weddings and Funerals there are quite few other reasons.There are a couple of threads on this subject already. I suggest you read them through and take your pick as to what you want to believe. Is the 7 o'clock (often it is 6 a.m.) specially rung to annoy expats who don't have to get up at the crack of dawn? Is the 11 o'clock bell really to remind farmer's wives (in the towns!) to cook for their farmer husbands or is it to remind the expats of the time when they had their 'coffee and custard cream biscuits elevensies' and had not yet joined the 'coffee and Gipfeli Znüni' brigade? Is the 3 p.m. bell-ringing to remind the wives to rush out to the fields with the Zvieri (an enormous between-meal snack) or is it to tell town folk that the mid-day 'don't make too much noise' period is over? Is the six in the evening bell really to tell the workers that they should knock off work - one of the Zürcher feasts is called Sechseläuten and is connected with the beginning of spring and the official time for the 'everyone-put-your-pen-down bells' as darkness falling will no longer limit working hours?
It's a wonder the bells don't still ring to remind us to light our candles before it is too dark to find the matches...

It used to annoy the hell out of me when i first arrived. I thought it was a breach to my personal space and couldnt handle the every 15min. I couldnt forget the time whereever i was. Now i barely hear it, definataly i cant avoid those bell-metal times , like midday and saturday pm and of course sunday 10am s, but it is high on my list when i move next time I would like to be far away to any kinda church, mosque, temple not that the latter two are here but. I´d rather be close to god on my own way. Maybe we should start a movemet on "silence them chutch bells"

Both mosques and temples are here in Switzerland.

I think I'm in the odd minority, but I absolutely love the church bell massive free-for-all sounding clang, especially on a Sunday afternoon. Yeah, I'm the weird one who doesn't mind the church bells...

I don't mind the church bells. I mind the dubble standards, or the selective hearing more correcly maybe, by the Swiss. Church bells donging your head of at 6 in the morning is fine. Talking on the street at 10 in the evening is not. Makes no sense to me.....

Sorry i should have said as visibly as the church , sure there must be a Hare-Krishna temple and couple of mosques somewhere in kleinbasel. My Appologis

I've always thought the 7pm bells were to tell you "ha ha - you missed the shops! Don't bother running to Migros - it is closed"

I think someone already started it! which is why the bells don't ring in the night in some places and ring at 7 a.m. instead of 6 a.m.
I, like Evilshell, rather like the bells, but then, I don't live so very near them. They gave a nice structure to our day when we lived in Alpthal though. In the country, it was a reminder that there were other folk out there who were listening to them too.

A Swiss friend told me once that the bells ring out the time for all those people who do not have a watch. I think he was being funny, but I have noticed that the bells near my place (2 churches on close proximity) both ring for example, 7 times at 7 am and so on. Doesn't bother me actually though it is fun on sleepless nights to really know how early it is.

It is mostly or even only the catholic churches that have them bells ringing, for mass mostly, then for ringing in Sunday on a Saturday evening (not sure if that is correct, I just remember having been told that was the reason).
I particularly like the ones at 10pm in Winter, makes me want to go to bed each time I hear them.
Then there used to be the one at 11 am, might still exist in some cantons. That used to be one when school was finished. We even have a little song called: S'elfi glöggli lüüted scho, jetz isch es Zyt zum heime go! So cute The eleven o'clock bell is ringing, time to go home, roughly translated.

Bells have been ringing here since 1:50 and are still going strong. Must be a special occasion as this does not happen everyday.

I know what that one is, it is a rather a sad occasion...a burial i think.