In the 19th century Schiller was read and honored not only by schoolteachers, but also by craftsmen and workers, as an initiator of national unity. Until about 1955 the Bell was an essential part of the Volksschule 8th. Klasse as well as high school curriculum and regarded as part of German cultural heritage. It was regarded as a treasury of sayings; well known collections list a large number of verses from the "Song of the Bell" which continue to be quoted today as part of the German cultural heritage, sometimes without awareness of the source.
