Prague town hall clock
The Prague City Hall Clock , also the Apostle Clock or Old Town Astronomical Clock , in Czech Pražský orloj or Staroměstský orloj (from the Latin horologium 'clock'), is a world-famous astronomical clock from 1410, which is located in Prague on the south wall of the Old Town Hall . It is a masterpiece of Gothic science and technology and a valuable cultural monument .
history
The Prague Astronomical Clock is now one of the main attractions of the Czech capital . It was not built in one piece, but grew over the centuries. Together with the Old Town Hall, the astronomical clock is a national cultural monument and an indispensable part of old Prague.
Building history
In 1338, King John of Bohemia allowed the citizens of the old city of Prague to build a town hall , which they financed from the wine tax. The almost 70 m high tower was completed in 1364 and expanded and rebuilt until the 19th century.
Until the 20th century it was assumed that the clock built into the tower was built in 1490 by a clockmaker named Jan Růže alias Master Hanuš and his assistant Jakob Zech . This information goes back to the mechanic Jan Táborský z Klokotské Hory , who carried out extensive repairs on the clock from 1552 and mentioned Master Hanuš in his report on the description of the Prague tower clock in 1570. This error has now been corrected. Jan Růže and Jakub Čech were only involved in converting the clock later, not at the beginning as the actual clock designers.
One of the oldest parts of the clock is the mechanical clockwork with the astronomical dial. The clockwork was built in 1410 by clockmaker Nikolaus von Kaaden according to the plans of Johannes Schindel , who was professor of mathematics and astronomy at Charles University in Prague from 1409 . The stone carvings and sculptures around the astronomical dial come from Peter Parler's workshop, which was closed in 1419 .
Only in a second phase, around 1490, was a calendar added below the astronomical dial, apparently a work by the aforementioned watchmakers Jan Růže and Jakob Zech. The entire clock facade was richly decorated with striking sculptures in the style of the Vladislav Gothic (the Bohemian version of the gothique flamboyant ). However, the remains of the Parlerian sculptures close to the astronomical dial have been preserved.
In 1551 Jan Táborský z Klokotské Hory was appointed by the Prague City Council to maintain and restore the clockwork of the town hall. He introduced the calendar drive and the half hour. He also installed two sundials on both sides of the dial so that the clock could also be set mechanically independently.
The fact that the Prague clock only displayed astronomical data at this time is also significant. Táborský had already underlined this in his report. He specifically praised
"That on the clock there are no superfluous mechanical figures for the amusement of the common people, but only the pure astronomical art is represented."
It was not until the 17th century that figures (automatons) were added to the clock on both sides of the dial. The time at which the astrological tables exhibited in the two little windows above the astronomical dial were exchanged for the figures of the 12 apostles is not clearly known. The existence of the apostles has only been historically proven since 1860. The figure of the rooster was added in 1882.
The electric elevators for the clock were not installed until 1957.
The Prague Astronomical Clock has been in operation in its original site for 600 years.
Repairs
Over the centuries, the clock stalled many times and needed extensive repairs.
The watch's first rescue
In 1760 the clock was in very poor condition, often defective and out of order for a long time. The then magistrate rejected all suggestions and offers of help from Father Johannes Klein from the observatory in Clementinum . The situation came to a head. In 1787 the clock was in such critical condition that the Prague magistrate wanted to sell it as scrap. A Czech patriot and professor at the Charles University ( Antonín Strnad ) worked to save the clock. He recognized its historical value and tried to win the councilors over to the repair. After lengthy efforts, he succeeded in convincing first the chairman of the magistrate and finally the whole magistrate to approve the amount required for the repair. Under the direction of Strnad, the repairs were carried out between 1787 and 1791 by the watchmaker Šimon Landsperger, the staffer Václav Obmauer and the sculptor Anton Schuhmann. Despite all repairs and further efforts, the clock ran poorly. Only after the major repairs in 1866 was it possible to put the watch back into continuous operation.
The big repair
In 1866 one of the most extensive repairs in the history of the clock was carried out. The original regulator ( Foliot ) has been replaced by a separate precision pendulum clock, which gives the old clockwork an impulse every minute. Both the drive of the calendar disc and that of the Bohemian hour have been redesigned. The sundials installed by Táborský have been removed. Instead, two new, illuminated dials with Roman numerals were attached to the side walls of the porch. During the restoration of the astronomical dial, however, a mistake was made: the round zodiac hand was wrongly made smaller by approx. 20 cm in diameter. In order to fix this mistake as quickly as possible, the zodiac hand was given a second golden ring, which was riveted to the zodiac with 72 bars. This gave the watch its globally unique appearance. Unfortunately, there was no time to change the linkages of the course of the sun and moon on the ecliptic , and so both still run on the smaller circle today.
During the repairs, a newly revised calendar disk was installed, which is the work of the painter Josef Mánes . The disk depicts the medallion cycle of the twelve months and twelve zodiac circles. Josef Mánes used the miniatures in the handwritten breviary of the Grand Cross Lord Loew of Prague from 1356 as a direct template for depicting the seasonal work in the medallions. Today the original is in the Prague City Museum and a copy made by the painter Bohumír Číla adorns the clock in its place.
The watch's second salvation
During the Prague uprising , in the last three days of World War II , the last German tanks from Prague's Letná hill set fire to the neo-Gothic east and north wings of the town hall, which also destroyed the town archives - a sensitive vacant lot in front of St. Nicholas Church. The astronomical clock was badly damaged by both direct fire and the fire that broke out. Many gave up hope that the movement could still be restored. There were even votes to replace it with a completely new one with modern hands. The figures should symbolize contemporary life. Nevertheless, it was possible to restore the historical work, which led to the decision to restore the astronomical clock as a whole to its original shape. The apostles that can be seen today were made by sculptor Vojtěch Sucharda in 1948. Only two of the original figures survived in the Prague City Museum. On July 1, 1948, after extensive repair and restoration work, the original clock mechanism was returned to its intended use.
chronology
| year | Type of work | Performers |
|---|---|---|
| 1338 | Town hall building | |
| 1410 | Date of origin Astrolabe, clockwork |
Johannes Schindel Nikolaus von Kaaden |
| 1490 | City hall remodeling calendar, drive of the Bohemian hour |
Jan Růže (Master Hanuš) Jakob Zech |
| 1566 | Improvements to the calendar drive, the half hour, sundials |
Jan Táborský z Klokotské Hory |
| 1629 | repair | unknown |
| 1659 | Reconstruction of striking mechanism with bell, figures on both sides of the dials |
unknown |
| 1787 | Repair "rescue from scrapping" |
Antonín Strnad Simon Landsperger Wenzel Obmauer Anton Schuhmann |
| 1866 | "Big renovation" spindle gear with balance removed, chronometer, external clocks, apostle drive, drive of the Bohemian hour, change of the zodiac, redesigned calendar disc, moon rotation correction gear, sundials removed |
Romuald Božek Ludwig Hainz Čeněk Daněk Josef Mánes |
| 1882 | Repair, addition to the sound sculpture Hahn |
Ludwig Hainz |
| 1930 | Repair, restoration of the figures | |
| 1945 | severe war damage | |
| 1946 | Extensive repairs after war damage | Jindřich Vesecký Rudolf Vesecký Josef Valášek Josef Frič |
| 1957 | Reconstruction of the Bohemian Hour drive, electric elevators |
E. Procházka Ing. Miroslav Krajník Josef Valášek |
| 1963 | repair | Jindřich Vesecký Rudolf Vesecký Josef Valášek |
| 1979 | Repair Correction of the astronomical night on the dial |
Zdeněk Horský, CSc. Josef Valášek |
| 1993 | repair | Zdislav Šíma Heisler Josef Valášek Otakar Zámečník |
| 2005 | repair | Zdislav Šíma Otakar Zámečník |
Myths, sagas
Like many other important historical objects, this astronomical clock is also shrouded in numerous legends . The best known is the legend of Master Hanuš, as the creator of the clock. The legend is fictitious and, by the way, (only with other people) is also entwined with other clocks of this type in the world.
Master Hanuš
After completing the clock, Master Hanuš explained its construction to the Prague councilors. Everyone agreed that they had never seen such an impressive work. Although Hanuš assured that he was very happy that he was able to complete this one work at all, the prophylactic jealousy began to gnaw at the councilor. Since Hanuš did indeed get offers from various cities for new tower clocks, they agreed to do a terrible deed.
One night hired criminals broke into Master's bedroom and poked out both of his eyes. Hanuš survived the cowardly attack, but is now languishing. But finally he got himself up to one last act: he let himself be guided to the clock, and when it struck the hour and the complicated wheelwork started moving, he put his hand into the clockwork, and promptly the movement stopped with one terrible crunch. Master Hanuš had himself brought back home, where he died immediately afterwards.
No one could repair the Prague astronomical clock for another hundred years.
Bohemian nobles
After the uprising of the estates in Bohemia , twenty-seven Bohemian nobles were executed in front of the Prague City Hall on June 21, 1621. (Their heads were hung in wire baskets on the Old Town Bridge Tower as a deterrent.) Legend has it that every year on the day of the execution, all twenty-seven decapitated people meet in front of the town hall, then slowly and quietly walk to the south portal and watch the astronomical clock. If the clock goes well and accurately, then the Czech people will be well and everyone will part in peace. If the clock goes wrong, or if it even stops, bad times are approaching the Czech people. Then everyone goes sadly into the dark alleys of Prague's old town and has to wait in the alleys until another year has passed.
Knight and Grim Reaper
Of all the signs on the town hall clock, people were always most interested in the dreaded Grim Reaper , to whom bad omens and fortune telling were usually ascribed. But there is also a legend that makes it a symbol of hope:
Allegedly, the windows above the astronomical dial, which now house the apostles, were the windows of a prison cell in the old town hall. A robber baron who had fought himself with a sword in the city was imprisoned here and was waiting for his death sentence to be carried out. He watched from the little window how a sparrow perched in the Grim Reaper's mouth as he opened and closed it. After the end of the demonstration, the sparrow remained trapped in said mouth and had to wait until the next hour before it was released again. After the sparrow had flown to freedom, the knight had hope again that he might be free himself. And this actually happened, he was pardoned.
description
Show
The clock portal shows the typical distribution of displays at that time. At the top is the dial with time and astronomical displays, and below it is the calendar. The figures and automatons are attached to the sides. The apostle run was later installed over all dials.
Astronomical dial
The upper dial, the most important part of the clock, is actually a clockwork powered astrolabe with stereographic projection from the north. It consists of a fixed circle in the middle and a movable ring on the outside, for the Bohemian hour . In the middle of the dial, which relates precisely to the geographical latitude of Prague, three hands rotate.
- The sun hand on which the sun moves over the course of the year.
- The moon hand, on which the moon shifts over the course of the year and at the same time rotates around its own axis to display the moon phases .
- The ecliptic with signs of the zodiac , a rotatable dial for displaying the current position of the sun and moon in the zodiac.
Explanation of the picture:
- Fixed dial with golden Roman numerals. The upper XII means noon , the lower midnight . On this scale, the sun hand (9th) shows the civil hour , earlier this was the true local time , but today it shows Central European Time .
- Equator .
- Arabic black numbers delimited with gold segments. The sun (10th) shows the temporal hours on this scale , also called planetary hours . These start at sunrise with the 1st hour and end with the 12th hour at sunset.
- Tropic of Cancer .
- AURORA (dawn), ORTUS (sunrise), OCCASUS (sunset), CREPUSCULUM (sunset). These four fields, delimited with golden segments, show the twilight phases . The sun (10th) crosses the golden segments every day and the sun hand (9th) shows the hours (1st and 8th) of the respective twilight. Similarly, the moon hand indicates the rising and setting of the moon.
- Sidereal time hand: This hand is firmly connected to the ecliptic (13th) and shows the sidereal time with a small star on the scale (1st) .
- Dark circle for the twilight phase of the astronomical night .
- Golden Gothic numbers on a separate moving ring for reading the Bohemian hours. These start half an hour after sunset with the 1st hour and are counted to 24. Since the sunset changes constantly over the course of the year, the 1st Bohemian hour is automatically synchronized with the time of the current sunset.
- The golden hand is a symbol of blessing. It sits on the sun hand and shows the civil hour on the fixed dial (1st) and at the same time the Bohemian hour on the movable dial (8th).
- The sun shows its day arc on the lower, immobile dial . The planetary hour (3rd) or the twilight phases (5th and 7th) are displayed. The height of the sun is shown by moving the sun pointer (9th) in relation to the tropics and the equator (2nd, 4th, 12th). At the same time, the current position of the sun in the ecliptic and the corresponding zodiac sign are displayed on the ecliptic pointer (13.).
- The black and silver ball on the moon hand indicates the current position of the moon in the ecliptic (zodiac sign). At the same time the ball rotates on its own axis and shows the moon phase. At the same time, the rising and setting of the moon are displayed on the lower, immobile dial.
- Tropic of Capricorn .
- The ecliptic, a pointer or rather a rotating dial that rotates once around the center of the astrolabe on a sidereal day . The sun (10th) and the moon (11th) run on the edge and show their current position in the zodiac.
The following data can be read on the dial shown:
- it is around 4 p.m. (9th on 1st)
- it is the 21st bohemian hour (9th on 8th)
- Stardate approx. 2:30 (6th to 1st)
- we are in the 10th planetary hour (10th on 3rd)
- the moon is in the first quarter (ball 11.)
- the moon is in the zodiac sign Leo (11th on 13th)
- the sun is in the zodiac sign Virgo (10th to 13th). The period of the sun's passage for the zodiac sign Virgo is from August 24th to April 23rd. September. Since the sun is in the first third, the date can be estimated at the beginning of September.
- The sun (10th) moves away from the Tropic of Cancer (4th) and is already very close to the equator (2nd). We will shortly day and night are equally long ( equinox ) have and autumn begins (22 to 23 September).
Calendar
The lower dial is a calendar that counts the months and days. The outer edge of the disc consists of 365 segments, each with four fields. Seen from the inside, the day of the month is shown in the first field, the Sunday letter in the second , the name day in the third , the consecrated name days being written in red, and the initial syllables of Cisiojanus are shown in the outer field .
The disc rotates one segment clockwise every day. Before the Great Repair in 1866, the angel (to the left of the dial) pointed to the respective segment with a staff that he held in his right hand. Today there is a small reading pointer at the highest point on the dial. The twelve inner medallions represent the zodiac signs, each showing a month, while the outer medallion shows typical monthly images that follow a millennia-old European tradition. In the middle is the non-rotating coat of arms of Prague's old town.
Example of some segments, starting on August 29th (right picture)
| Day of the month | Sunday letter | name day | Cisiojanus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | C. | Stětí sv. Jana | Jana |
| 30th | D. | Šťastného a zbožného | sťa |
| 31 | E. | Paulina vyzn. | ta |
| 1 | F. | Jiljího vyzn. | Jil |
| 2 | G | Daniela Proroka | ji |
| 3 | A. | Magna | pod |
| 4th | B. | Wazara žeb. | zim |
Cisiojanus for this part of the calendar: … hlava Jana sťata. Jiljí podzim začíná ...
Figures and automatons
The figures of the twelve apostles appear in the two windows every hour on the hour between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. At the same time, four figures awaken on the sides of the astronomical dial: on the left the allegory of vanity next to greed , on the right the Grim Reaper (allegory of death) turning the hourglass and with the bell in the small tower above the apostles' passage rings. Next to the grim reaper is the Turk who is supposed to represent the allegory of lust . After all the apostles have passed by, the rooster crows above the apostle window, and the bell at the top of the tower begins to strike the hour. Finally, the Grim Reaper turns the hourglass he is holding in his left hand.
Next to the calendar dial are another four wooden figures, which, however, cannot be moved. These are also allegorical representations. On the left the philosopher and the angel with the flaming sword, on the right the astronomer and the chronicle writer .
The oldest figure on the clock is the Gothic angel between the two apostle windows. This is now a copy of the original from the 15th century that is housed in the museum.
clockwork
Due to the historical technical changes, today's clockwork consists of several components. The technical changes compared to the original movement have been made extremely carefully. The movement with pointer mechanism has survived all repairs in the last 600 years without any changes and has been preserved in its former form and function to this day. The clock originally had a foliot with a spindle escapement as a rate regulator , which was only replaced by a minute mechanism (precision pendulum clock) during extensive repairs (1866) . With this additional measure, the watch has sufficient accuracy to this day .
The individual components
- Movement with pointer mechanism (astrolabe drive) [1]
- Bell with apostle drive [2]
- Striking mechanism [3]
- Calendar work
- Minute mechanism (precision pendulum clock) [4]
- Drive of the bohemian hour [5]
Movement with hands (astrolabe drive)
Movement.
Behind the drive of the "Bohemian Hour"
Work for the drive of the "Bohemian Hour"
Emanuel Procházka (1957)
Percussion
Minute movement
Romuald Božek (1866)
literature
- Antonín Strnad: Description of the famous clock and works of art on the Old Town Hall and on the Königl. Prague observatory. Prague 1791 e-rara
- Václav Rosický: Staroměstský orloj v Praze. Nakladatelství J. Otto, Praha 1923 Kramerius
- Zdeněk Horský: Pražský orloj. Panorama, Prague 1988.
- Jakub Malina: Staroměstský orloj (Praha esoterická). Eminent, Praha 2005, ISBN 80-7281-202-5 .
Web links
- Stanislav Marušák, Petr Král: Pražský orloj Czech
- Roman Přikryl: I. , II. , III. Czech
- Orloj: Astronomical Clock - Prague English
- Marušák: Mechanism of the twenty-four German
- Závodský: pictures
- Vojtěch Sedláček: animation
- Earthcam: webcam
- The Czech National Bank: Anniversary coin English
Individual evidence
- ^ Zdeněk Horský, Emanuel Procházka: Pražský orloj. Acta historiae rerum naturalium nec non technicarum IX; Československá akademie věd; Prague 1964; P. 84f.
- ^ Zdislav Šíma: Za tajemstvím pražského orloje: otázky a odpovědi. Pokroky matematiky, fyziky a astronomie; Volume 54 (2009), No. 4, p. 269f.
- ↑ Zdislav Šíma: Orloje - hi-tech 14. století Part 1
- ^ Alena Hadravová, Petr Hadrava: Zázemí staroměstského orloje v Pražské astronomické škole. Pokroky matematiky, fyziky a astronomie; Volume 54 (2009), No. 4, pp. 276f.
- ^ Josef Teige: Jan Táborský z Klokotské Hory a jeho Zpráva o orloji Staroměstském. Časopis spol. přátel starožitností českých; Year 9; Praha 1901, pp. 1–12 and pp. 65–69.
- ^ Anton Michalitschke: The old town hall clock in Prague. German work vol. VII; Prague 1907/8; P. 681f.
- ^ Joseph G. Böhm : Description of the ancient Prague town hall clock. Treatises by K. Böhm. Ges. Der Wiss .; V. Series, Volume 14; Prague 1866
- ↑ Zdeněk Horský: orloj Pražský. Panorama, Prague 1988; P. 88.
- ↑ Emanuel Procházka: Oprava Staroměstského Orloje. Zprávy památkové péče; Year 18; Prague 1958; S45f
- ↑ a b Jana Olivová: Rozhovor s bývalým pražským orlojníkem Otakarem Zámečníkem , Pokroky matematiky, fyziky a astronomie; Volume 54 (2009), No. 4, pp. 301f.
- ^ Alois Jirásek : Staré pověsti české ; Edited by Alf. Scharbert; Roland, Prager Verlagsges. Prague 1923
- ^ MosaPedia: Master Hanuš
- ^ A b Václav Cibula: Pražské pověsti. Orb; Prague 1972
- ↑ Michal Křížek; Jakub Šolz; Alena Šolcová: Pražský orloj a stereografická projekce ( Memento of the original of March 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. PDF 3.76 MB
- ↑ Michal Křížek, Lawrence Somer, Alena Šolcová: Deset matematických vět o pražském orloji. Pokroky matematiky, fyziky a astronomie; Volume 54 (2009), No. 4, pp. 281f.
- ↑ Michal Křížek: Astronomical Clock. Animation ( Memento of the original from May 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Willy Leenders: The clock programmed in a spreadsheet. Excel
- ↑ Pražský orloj: Moon Drive
- ↑ Zdeněk Horský: orloj Pražský. Panorama, Prague 1988; P. 58.
- ↑ Vlasta Filler: Funkční kalendář s cisiojánem for Pražského Orloje
- ↑ Zdislav Šíma: Orloje - hi-tech 14. století Part 2
- ↑ Curt Dietzschold : Tower clocks including so-called art clocks. Bernhard Friedrich Voigt; Weimar 1894; P. 308f.
- ↑ Václav Rosický: Staroměstský orloj v Praze. Nakladatelství J. Otto, Prague 1923; P. 59f.
- ↑ Václav Rosický: Staročeský orloj na pražské radnici. Český svět; Year XII; Praha Karlín 1916 No. 27; P. 5f.
- ↑ Emanuel Procházka: Obnovení chodu čtyřiadvacetníku na Staroměstském orloji. In: Jemná mechanika a optika. Volume 7, Praha 1958, pp. 205f.
Coordinates: 50 ° 5 ′ 13.3 " N , 14 ° 25 ′ 14.5" E