Glocken- und Kunstgießerei Rincker

Glocken- und Kunstgießerei Rincker is a German bell foundry and art casting company based in Sinn, Hesse. It describes itself as Europe's oldest bell foundry in family ownership, with a history dating back to at least 1590. The company has remained in the Rincker family for at least 14 generations, passing down the knowledge of bell rib construction directly within the family. The foundry produces bells, carillons, tower clocks, ringing machines, and bronze art castings in various sizes, metals, and alloys, along with patination and maintenance services. It also offers 3D printing for plastic models and cast parts up to a build volume of 900 x 900 x 1400 mm. Rincker serves municipalities, architects, planning offices, bell experts, and church organizations, providing support from initial planning through technical implementation, installation, and ceremonial commissioning. The company has cast over 20,000 bells since record-keeping began in the 19th century. Notable projects include the six-part peal for the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in Berlin in 1960 and a life-size Elvis Presley statue in Bad Nauheim in 2021. The business is currently led by Hanns Martin and Fritz Georg Rincker, representing the 13th generation.

The origins of the Rincker foundry are difficult to pinpoint. Even a company history commissioned by the firm in 1960 reached no clear conclusion due to a lack of records. The occupational name 'Rincker' derives from the late 16th-century term for a red caster (Rotgießer), also called 'Ringe'. Although a tax payment by a Hans Rincker is documented for 1596, there is no evidence of him working as a bell founder or of any bell he cast. A bell in Netphen previously thought to be from 1590 has been definitively attributed to the Frankfurt master Laux Rucker. The names of Hans Rincker's four sons also do not match those of later founders. Thus, the first documented bell bearing the family name is one cast in 1683 for Ober-Hörgern by Johann Jakob Rincker in Aßlar, together with Antonius Fei. Johann Jakob Rincker cast numerous bells until his death in 1744. His son Wilhelm Anton Rincker, born in Aßlar in 1692, was considered a significant master of the family, working as an itinerant founder with a wide reach. His son Friedrich Moritz settled in Osnabrück in 1755, but that workshop lasted only until about 1800 due to lack of successors. The Aßlar foundry survived. From there, Heinrich and his brother Philipp founded a foundry in Leun. Justus and Jacob continued the Osnabrück operation. Two of three bells cast in 1799 still ring in the Protestant church in Welver-Borgeln. Gottfried Rincker founded another workshop in the Rhineland from Leun. At that time there were no fixed foundries, only collective casting sites, including those in Affeln and Westhofen. The latter gained importance when Gottfried and his son Wilhelm received commissions for Soest, Hagen, Volmarstein, Attendorn, Castrop, Iserlohn, and Dortmund. That foundry had to be dissolved for lack of heirs. In 1817, the Leun foundry relocated to Sinn, where Philipp Rincker established the present foundry. His eldest son, Heinrich Wilhelm Rincker, founded a foundry in Chicago. The technical and craft rise of the foundry around 1900 was driven by Heinrich's sixth son Friedrich Wilhelm and his son August Rincker. Through a friendship with Georg Appun, who invented adjustable tuning forks for partial tone analysis of bells, the Rincker foundry gained world renown. Success was short-lived; World War I and rising inflation brought work to a halt. August's eldest son Fritz Rincker moved to Hungary during this time, where he cast about 2,200 bells. Together with his brother Curt, he continued the works under the name Gebrüder Rincker in Sinn. After World War II, they rebuilt the foundry under the harshest conditions and expanded its significance to unprecedented dimensions (around 10,000 bells by 1958). The six-part peal of 1960 for the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in Berlin marked the pinnacle of the Rincker foundry. Fritz's son Hans-Gerd took over the bell foundry and added an art foundry. His sons Hanns Martin and Fritz Georg lead the company in the 13th generation.

• 2021

  Life-size Elvis Presley statue in Bad Nauheim and bronze model of Wetzlar old town installed.

• 1960

  Six-part peal for the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in Berlin, considered the pinnacle of the foundry.

• 1958

  Around 10,000 bells cast by this year.

• 1900

  Technical and craft rise under Friedrich Wilhelm and August Rincker; world renown through friendship with Georg Appun.

• 1817

  Philipp Rincker relocates the Leun foundry to Sinn, establishing the present foundry.

• 1799

  Three bells cast; two still ring in Welver-Borgeln.

• 1755

  Friedrich Moritz Rincker settles in Osnabrück, establishing a branch that lasts until about 1800.

• 1744

  Death of Johann Jakob Rincker, who had cast numerous bells.

• 1683

  First documented bell with the Rincker name cast by Johann Jakob Rincker for Ober-Hörgern.

• 1596

  Tax payment by Hans Rincker documented, though not as a bell founder.

• 1590

  Earliest claimed date of bell founding activity by the Rincker family (traditional founding date).

Premium, heritage-based craftsmanship; Europe's oldest family-owned bell foundry.

• Bells and peals

  Cast in various sizes, from small to monumental; over 20,000 bells cast since the 19th century.

• Carillons

  Multi-bell instruments for musical performance.

• Tower clocks

  Clock mechanisms for towers.

• Ringing machines

  Modern ringing technology for bells.

• Art castings

  Bronze, brass, and other metal castings, including statues and models.

• 3D printing for casting models

  Precise 3D printing for casting models up to 900 x 900 x 1400 mm.

1. 1Rincker – Glocken- und Kunstgießereirincker.de
2. 2Unternehmen – Rinckerrincker.de
3. 3Glocken- und Kunstgießerei Rincker – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
4. 4Glocken- und Kunstgießerei Rincker – Wikidatawikidata.org