It’s time for another Swiss bell story. No other country seems to generate as many of them, or with as much heat, not to mention sound. We’ve had them here: Neighbors complaining about cowbells, bells that ring too early, bells that…
As is often the case, the latest involves a newcomer who wants the bell turned off. This time, in the town of Plan-les-Ouates, near Geneva, it’s a new resident who doesn’t like the schoolhouse bell that tolls every half hour day and night—and has done so for 120 years, since the bell was given to the town when Geneva removed its medieval fortifications which the bell was part of.
A new resident, living near the school, asked to have the bell turned off at night, sparking resistance, a petition by 300 residents, and angry words from locals. The man who organized the petition says “There is no question of stopping the bell for a new arrival.” Another told reporters “It’s like when a rooster crows in a village. When people from the city arrive, they complain about it.”
The town’s official response to the woman, who now says she will sue the town, was to tell her “this bell has been ringing for 120 years and no one complained. We have always heard it at night, but it never stopped us from sleeping because the body gets used to this type of noise very quickly,”
