Yes, indeed we would like to know that. And maybe we have permission to reply to that, it hangs in the steeple of the Evangelical Church in Ulfa. It is this place of about 1100 residents in the vicinity of Schotten. The place's name (originally Oloffe) makes us think, that maybe here dating back to the "Keltenzeit" Celtic settlements, the word Oloffe meant marshland, that already in the days of Charlemagne in the calculation of the monastery at Fulda for the first time "taucht"dived into Oloffe. So probably the monks of this monastery were the first messengers of Christianity.

Many competent discoveries reveal that our church goes back to the time between 900 and 1000. And now hangs in our steeple a bell, that in this year of 1940, celebrates its 605th birthday. It is no longer beautiful to look at, it has almost lost all its old outer brilliance and also its wide opened mouth reveals many nicks and is no longer smooth and round. Nevertheless, now after all these years, does its duty along with its two 50 or 70 year younger sisters, always sounding forth its previous ringing sound again. We learn from itself that it was cast by a Mister Bertold in the year of our Lord 1334. Exactly the inscription on the upper edge reads MESTIR BERTULD + ANNO DMJ + M + CCC + XXXIII + I. Since we stood at that time in the middle of the Catholic Era, it was probably consecrated to Mary, Mother of God, and for around 200 years it rang at the Catholic Church services.

Let's stop for a moment and look around us in the world. In the same year 1334, at that time the pope, Pope John XXII died in Avignon in the southern French Empire. He lived there in superficial freedom, but in all important things depending on the King of France and was, because of that, also a fierce opponent of lawful violent German Emperor Ludwig of Bavaria. Just 200 years later are all the reformed endeavors, that in the chuch already long announced and for example in Wycliffe and Huss became evident and in Martin Luther's Reformation reached victory. In any case, Ulfa, which belonged to the Land of Philipp the Magnanimous, also soon reached out for the Reformation and thus rang our Mary concrecated bell together with its small sisters in the year 1334 calling the first evangelical pastor Ludwig Waborn for Church services.

And in the years following, it accompanied all residents both in good and hard times, whether concerning the baptism of a tiny earth inhabitant or if a couple joined their hands for life or if someone was carried to his final resting place -- always is the bell there and rang intimately and yet earnestly to praise and thank or also to comfort. Now, 100 years later, the 30 Year War raged and our bell, from its high guard post, it sees mercenary troops , so its mouth many times was silent, when one sees farther, the plague corpses carried away, because there were entirely too many, because also many times the arm was absent that could make the bell bring forth its sound. Also the pastor was a victim of this epidemic and was buried in Nidda in 1635.

Another 100 years later the bell hangs in a newly built steeple - which in the year 1721 during a lightning strike was heavily or greatly damaged. Certainly the bell had to stand below while the right certain lengthiness of the rebuilding took place. And as again another 100 years passed by, now has it witnessed the enthusiasm of the War of Liberation, also the consolation and strength contributed upon departure, or also arrival of the report of those killed in action, so it accompanied again many hundreds, there were the 600 years that went by under the foot of the steeple and that hopefully it can give this service many years in the future, as it calls us together to hear the Word of God proclaimed in joyous or in solemn days to accompany , to admonish and to strengthen..