the instruments used are real Renaissance instruments or excellent imitations. This was very useful, since no other instruments of this time were extant. These finds were examined in Leipzig, and replicas were built. Even the imitations were detailed enough to serve as a blueprint for replicas, and these instruments were relevant to allow the reproduction of the typical sound of an orchestra of the time. A special attraction for organ enthusiasts is the great organ by Gottfried Silbermann with its three manuals, 44 organ stops and 2574 organ pipes. Opposite of it is another, smaller Silbermann organ, which is also an excellent instrument. The cathedral has six church bells, four of which are from the famous Hilliger casting house. The heaviest of the bells is the Große Susanne at 5 tons. The Golden Gate is a late Romanesque arched sandstone portal on the southern side of the cathedral, adorned by sculptures and richly ornamented columns that were originally richly colorated. To protect the gate from environmental influences, an extension was built in 1902/03. The cathedral is still used for services by the congregation. It can be visited daily for a fee in guided tours. The organ The Great Organ Built sometime between 1711 and 1714, the Freiberg Cathedral organ is an amalgamation of the French and German styles of organ building. The reeds are voiced in the French style, but the foundation stops, the stops which sound at the notated pitch, are reinforced in a way that is typical of the German style. Also, the Quintadehn (Quintadena) stops (stops which sound the third partial particularly strongly) and conical reed stops bear German influences as well. The organ was originally tuned using the meantone system of tuning, and is tuned to A=473 Hz. Today, the tuning system is a slight variation of meantone tuning, and A has more or less been kept at its original frequency; it is now at 476 Hz. The organ was not much modified over the course of Silbermann's lifetime: the influence of Silbermann's students who maintained the organ against Silbermann's wishes (he had a dispute with the leadership of Freiburg), lack of funds for retuning in the early 1800s, and the protests of the organist when the church again attempted to retune the organ a few decades later all contributed to the preservation of the organ more or less as it was built. However, in the