Hüsgen clock
The Hüsgen clock is an astronomical clock that was constructed in 1746 according to plans by Hofrat Wilhelm Friedrich Hüsgen .
history
The original owner of the clock was Hofrat Wilhelm Friedrich Hüsgen, autodidact , who had the clock built by the Kinzing brothers in Neuwied according to his own plans .
He was a good friend of the Goethe family. The young Johann Wolfgang von Goethe got to know the clock in Hüsgen's house in the "Allee" (today's Goetheplatz in Frankfurt am Main ) and was so impressed by it that about five decades later he wrote about it in poetry and truth about the "for that time Times at least miraculous clock ” remembered.
After Hüsgen's death, the watch was part of the collection of his son Heinrich Sebastian Hüsgen . In 1780 he printed a manuscript from his father in his “Nachrichten” which explains the various features of the mechanism. After the death of the bachelor Heinrich Sebastian, the clock was auctioned off by a niece on May 9, 1808 on the basis of a testamentary wish . Around 1830 the watch came into the possession of the Frankfurt family "Fleck" through another auction . On December 8, 1933, she was able to acquire the Free German Hochstift for 2000 RM . Since then, the clock has been presented on the forecourt on the 2nd floor of the Goethe House .
The astronomical clock has been repaired or serviced several times over the years, sometimes not in a professional manner. As a result, most of the astronomical indications did not work and the clock often stopped. In 1994 a complete restoration of the clock was decided, and the major restoration work then followed in the years 1995 to 1996. The astronomical clock is back in operation from then on.
description
As a lawyer, WF Hüsgen had certainly enjoyed a good general scientific education in his day, which enabled him to precisely calculate a mechanical work with calendar, astronomical and equation displays. What he lacked, however, was "technical knowledge". The whole construction is excessive and too complicated. In contrast, the Kinzing brothers were excellent watchmakers and it was certainly clear to them that the Hüsgens construction is not the simplest. However, the collaboration meant that the entire work, especially the astronomical indications and the calendar, has become absolutely unique .
casing
The clock case of the astronomical floor clock has a height of 269 cm, a width of 97 cm and is 38 cm deep. It consists of soft wood on which different types of wood have been veneered . A shellac polish forms the surface. The calendar is in the upper part. Below is a dial with astronomical indications, at the bottom the bear automat.
Assemblies and their functions
All assemblies are powered by weight lifts (gut ropes and lead weights). The movement has a second pendulum with a return escapement .
calendar
The calendar is designed as a Gregorian , perpetual calendar and therefore takes all leap days into account .
The displays from top to bottom:
The large calendar rings run from left to right within a bezel so that the date can be easily read. While the three upper rings are engraved as usual and inlaid in black, the annual ring is only drawn with water-soluble paint so that new year numbers can be applied after 12 years.
In the picture on the right: "Today, Thursday, August 25th 2011"
Time display
The skeletonized dial in the middle shows the hour and minute. The second is shown on a small additional dial above the hand shaft.
The astronomical clock has an equation . You can toggle between true local time (WOZ) and mean local time (MONT) with a small lever above the dial. At the presentation location in the Goethe House, the "unequal time" (WOZ) is switched off and the "same time" (MOZ) is set to Central European Time (CET) or Central European Summer Time (CEST).
Sun
The sun dial is on the left. The miniatures of the constellations are no longer original. In the middle, once every tropical year, a wooden, gold-plated sun rotates clockwise , which is firmly connected to a blue disk and a pointer.
The sun hand points on the dial from the inside out:
- Signs of the zodiac in which the sun is currently located
- Length of night
- Length of the clear day
- Number of weeks until the end of the quarter
- Individual days of the year, each represented by a point
- The past few weeks since the beginning of the year, divided into quarters .
moon
The moon dial is arranged on the right. In the middle, a wooden, black and silver moon ball rotates from right to left to indicate the moon phase . The moon hand, together with the stylized starry sky, turns clockwise once every synodic month . On the dial there are four pictorial representations of the moon phases for the respective quarters between the miniatures. The miniatures are no longer original here either.
The moon hand points on the dial from the inside out:
- Moon phase figuratively (miniatures)
- Number of days until the end of the moon phase
- Elapsed days of the entire moon phase
- Days left until the end of the quarter
- Elapsed days of the moon phase divided into quarters
Percussion
The repeater striking mechanism has 4 bronze bells and 5 hammers. Every quarter of an hour, a musical mechanism with the tone sequence c '', g, c ', e, c' is triggered, followed by the striking mechanism (c ') on the hour.
Bear machine
The dancing bear in the doorway of the case has a signal function: Before the complicated work comes to a standstill, it lies on its back and warns that the watch must be wound.
literature
- HJ Antweiler: The clock of Hofrat Hüsgen and the clock in the Goethe House in Frankfurt am Main. In: Writings of the friends of old clocks. Issue 6, DGC , Stuttgart 1977, p. 34f.
- Dietrich Fabian: Kinzing and Roentgen watches from Neuwied. 1984, ISBN 3-922923-28-3 .
Web links
- Astronomical Clock Frankfurt Goethe House
- Horloge astronomique Flickr (picture).
- Astronomical clock webshots (picture).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Gerhard Kölsch: Henrich Sebastian Hüsgen art connoisseur and art collector of the Goethe era. Booklet accompanying the exhibition Henrich Sebastian Hüsgen, Free Deutsches Hochstift, Frankfurt Goethe Museum, 2005, p. 28, digitized
- ^ Klaus Maurice: The German wheel clock. CH Beck, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-406-06297-0 , Volume 2, pp. 102f.
- ↑ Wolfgang Lympius: restoration report; Huesgen clock in the Goethe House in Frankfurt / M. Goethe House, Frankfurt / M. 1996.
- ↑ Wolfgang Lympius: Technical documentation of the Huesgen clock. Goethe House, Frankfurt / M. 1996.