are indeed a nuissance, and in most European countries there are restrictions put on it on request of the citizens. Most churches only ring twice a day in congested aereas or they do not ring at all at night.
Yes the tradition was to tell the people the time since in the old times people did not have watches. Nowadays this tradition is obsolete.
The same goes for these annoying prayers at 4am, why can these people just set their clocks for sunrise if they wish do pray?
