Prague Astronomical Clock
The Prague Astronomical Clock (Staroměstský orloj) is an astronomical clock on the south side of the tower of the Old Town Hall on Old Town Square in Prague. It is first documented in a charter of 9 October 1410.[1] The clock is owned by the City of Prague and is a national cultural monument.[1]*
History
The clock was built in 1410 by the royal clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň according to calculations by the Prague university master and astronomer Jan Šindel. It was placed in an annex between two southern buttresses of the tower.[2][3] At the end of the 15th century it was extended and modified by Jan of Růže, known as Master Hanuš.[4][3] He is the subject of a legend that the councillors had him blinded after the work was completed. Prague City Tourism describes the story as fiction.[4] In 1865 the clock stopped. It was repaired by the clockmaker Ludvík Hainz, and his descendants then took care of it.[5] In May 1945, during the Prague Uprising, the town hall burned down. The clock, mounted on a wooden structure, collapsed and reappeared on the tower three years later.[4]
Description
The clock has three parts one above the other: the procession of the apostles, the astronomical dial and the calendar dial.[3] Every hour from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. the twelve apostles appear in two windows. Their movement is accompanied by figures beside the dial: a skeleton, a Turk, a Miser and a Vain Man.[5] The apostle figures by Eduard Veselý were destroyed by the fire in May 1945. The present wooden statues were carved in 1948 by Vojtěch Sucharda.[5] The calendar plate with allegories of the months was painted in 1865 by Josef Mánes. The original is kept in the Prague City Museum, and the town hall carries a copy by Bohumil Číla from 1946.[5] The clock shows Central European, Babylonian, sidereal and Old Bohemian time. Babylonian time divides the period from sunrise to sunset into twelve hours of varying length. In winter such an hour lasts 40 minutes, in summer 80 minutes.[4] The clockwork can be dismantled into 750 parts.[4]
Repairs in 2018 and 2019
In 2018 the clock underwent a nine-month reconstruction, for which City Hall paid almost 10 million crowns. It was restarted on St Wenceslas Day.[1] Experts then pointed out that the astronomical plate of the dial had been painted incorrectly, and in May 2019 City Hall had the plate repainted.[1] The town hall with the clock is opened to the public by the company Prague City Tourism.[5]
Sources
* The sources are collected and the preliminary text of this entry is drafted with artificial intelligence, on the instruction of the editorial staff; the entry has not yet been verified by an editor — report a mistake.