folklore - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 1997 - 6.50 Shilling

From earliest times, important buildings such as churches, castles, palaces and town halls were provided with towers. These were particularly suitable because of the view for sentries. These guards were appointed by the magistrate and have had a firm place in the community of cities since the Middle Ages. They were called "Turmer". In addition to their guard duty, they also had musical tasks ranging from sacred music to dance and entertainment music. In the whole of Upper Austria, the blowing of a bell at Christmas is a custom left behind by former pilgrims. It plays Christmas songs and pieces of old masters. On the hill above the town stands the parish church of Steyr. Its construction was started in 1443 by Hans Puxbaum, the master builder of the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. The most famous tower-watcher on the tower of the parish church was Ferdinand Sertl, who performed this task since 1691. The pilgrimage goes back to "Christkindl", a small town near the town of Steyr, which is known all over the world by the post office Christkindl. The special postage stamp "Turmblasen in Oberösterreich" shows four tower players of the Stadtkapelle Steyr on a gallery of the tower of the Stadtpfarrkirche Steyr.