A mechanical wonder over six centuries old is mounted on the south wall of the Old Town Hall in Prague, located in the Old Town Square. Nested in ornate gothic decoration, this steampunk predecessor is still ticking today.
Called the astronomical clock, it’s the oldest working clock of its kind in the world today and dates back to the early 15th century. Besides simply telling time, this chronometer of curiosities carries both history and legend within its clockwork innards, celestial dials, hands, faces, and statues.
This clock is unique in that it displays 24 hours of the day, rather than the standard 12 hours, and because it features four different time-telling traditions. The outermost dial with gold Arabic digits overlaying a black ground shows Old Bohemian time, used by Europeans during the Middle Ages, illuminated by a golden hand circling the clock face.
Encompassed within this, a large, inner face displays golden Roman numerals telling German time, which took over Old Bohemian in usage in 1547. That’s the same as Central European Time used today.
Seen in smaller, black numbers on this inner face is Ancient Babylonian time, which once gauged the sun at various stages in the day; daylight was divided up one through twelve, sunrise to sunset. Both daylight terminuses are marked in red, whereas astronomical nighttime is represented in black. A golden rotating sun indicator completes this marvelous celestial chronometer by showing us where the sun is in relation to the Earth—day or night.
The astronomical clock also displays stellar time; it shows not just the position of the sun in the sky, but also that of the moon and the stars. A spinning silver and black lunar orb tells us whether the moon is full, crescent, gibbous, or a new moon. Overlaying the clock face, a dial corresponding to the stars hovers overtop, displaying where the sun falls on a zodiac backdrop.
The astronomical clock was created by Mikuláš of Kadaň in 1410 with the help of Jan Šindel, a professor of mathematics at Charles University. However, its creation was mistakenly attributed to work done in 1490 by clockmaker Jan Růže, who became known as Hanuš. A legend accompanies this figure, telling how he refused to divulge how he built it and made plans to create an even grander one for someone else. Prague magistrates then ordered him blinded so he could not repeat his work.
In retribution, it is said his assistant sabotaged the astronomical clock, allegedly by sticking his hand in the gears, rendering it inoperable for a hundred years—until 1552 when it was repaired by Jan Táborský. It was Táborský who mentioned Hanuš being the maker of the clock, hence the historical mix-up that ensued. The record-keeping error was eventually corrected.
Yet despite these exquisite antique automata, the astronomical clock’s hourly show ranked third most disappointing tourist attraction in Europe, behind the Mona Lisa which ranked first, and “The Little Mermaid” statue in Copenhagen which ranked second.
The clock, along with accompanying statues, was almost scrapped in the 1780s due to how expensive it was to maintain but was ultimately saved and repaired. It was later damaged by fire in 1945 during World War II, yet with significant effort, the machinery was restored to working condition in 1948.
Hardly rivaling today’s animatronic special effects, the genius behind Prague’s astronomical clock nevertheless lives on to inspire curiosity and wonder. It continues telling time—plus the positions of the sun, moon, and stars—just like clockwork.
