One of the icons of the University of Twente campus is the Campus Carillon. In 2024, this tower with its carillon was given the status of a municipal monument, due to the way the instrument came into being and its emphatic connection to the campus.

The 49 bells of the Campus Carillon were cast in 1964 by Royal Eijsbouts. The series consists of bells with the tones a-flat1 - b-flat1 - c2 - chrom. - b-flat5. The instrument transposes up a minor seventh. The largest bell, in the top of the tower, bears the name ‘Enschede’. This bell has a diameter of 970 mm and weighs 536 kg.

The Campus Carillon: an icon to be proud of!

The smallest bells sound punchy and bright despite their small size and unusually high pitches. This result was achieved by making the wall of these bells somewhat thicker than usual. As a result, some bells of the highest octave are slightly heavier than bells of a lower octave.

The baton keyboard, which the carillonist plays with hands and feet, is positioned in a cabin just below the bells. The manual and pedal keys are directly connected to the clappers via wires and tumblers.

The largest 30 bells bear, apart from the text ‘EIJSBOUTS ME FECIT ASTEN’, the names of the municipalities in Twente / Oost-Gelderland (TOG) that donated the respective bells to the then Technische Hogeschool Twente (THT), as well as the year 1964, the TOG emblem and an ornament.

It is the first park carillon in the Netherlands and the first carillon at a university.

Campus Carillon Circle

Matching the campus spirit, the THT had decided that students and staff should play music on the carillon themselves. However, no one knew how to play the bells! Hence Karel Borghuis, city carillonneur of Oldenzaal, was appointed as a teacher in February 1965. He passionately taught students and staff, with the result that the bells sounded frequently. Soon after, the Campus Carillon Circle (CCC) was founded.

Carillon art is considered part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Netherlands.

For years, the CCC organized carillon concerts on Sunday afternoons in summer, to which guest carillonneurs were also invited. The annual CarillonFestijn alternately involved students from the music schools or a brass band, big band or dance group from the campus or from Enschede or Hengelo. Although students come and go, for several decades the permanent core consisted of prof. dr. Tjeerd Plomp and prof. dr. Wim J. Van der Linden.