Old Town Square
Astronomical Clock in Old Town Hall
Close up of clock
Death ringing his bell, Greed reading his bookIn the middle of Old Town Square is the Astronomical Clock. It is designed to tell time only tangentially, mostly it tells you how long to sun down and what the phases of the moon, etc. are. That said, on the hour it puts on a little show. Death rings his bell, the Turk shakes his head, Vanity looks at himself in the mirror and Greed reads his ledger book, the windows open and the Apostles look out. For this the Square fills with people.
The clock was built in 1490 when folks still thought the earth was the center of the universe and the sun and moon rotated around it (what! Don’t tell me it isn’t so!) The city fathers didn’t want anyone else to have as wonderful a clock as they did so they blinded the clockmaker when he was done. The clock tells time 3 different ways. In Old Bohemian time (24 hours starting with sunset), time as we know it and Babylonian time (daylight divided into 12 hours which vary with the seasons). It also shows the signs of the zodiac.
The clock was built in 1490 when folks still thought the earth was the center of the universe and the sun and moon rotated around it (what! Don’t tell me it isn’t so!) The city fathers didn’t want anyone else to have as wonderful a clock as they did so they blinded the clockmaker when he was done. The clock tells time 3 different ways. In Old Bohemian time (24 hours starting with sunset), time as we know it and Babylonian time (daylight divided into 12 hours which vary with the seasons). It also shows the signs of the zodiac.
all the pics are fantastic!
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