Clock at the old town hall in Esslingen
The clock in the old town hall in Esslingen is an astronomical clock and the oldest working wrought-iron tower clock in Germany.
History of the clock
In 1581 the Esslingen clockmaker Marx Schwarz was commissioned to build the clock. After Schwarz's death, the completion was transferred to Jakob Diem from Tübingen in 1586 . This extended the clock by an astronomical gear train and a mechanism for automaton figures.
Heinrich Schickardt completed the clock in the redesigned gable in 1589 . In 1753 the Esslingen clockmaker Jakob Schulz carried out repairs.
In 1841 the clock was moved to the New Town Hall across the street, and in 1889 it was re-erected in the Old Town Hall and fitted with a seconds pendulum.
In 1926, Professor Rudolf Lempp carried out extensive restoration of the building. In the same year the clock was shut down and a new Hörz clock from Ulm was bought. The old clockwork, including the astronomical gears, is kept in the former town museum in the old town hall by the History and Antiquity Association.
In 1989 the clock was set up on the ground floor of the Old Town Hall and a number of modifications were carried out. Nine years later, in 1998, a general renovation and restoration of the old town hall took place, whereby the clockwork disappeared. It was found in a cellar of the New Town Hall in 2003 and restored in 2006 by the company Klaus Ferner from Meißen .
In 2007 the clockwork was installed in the original clock room of the Old Town Hall with all the original functions and displays. On March 2, 2007, the historic clock at the old town hall in Esslingen was put back into operation and handed over to the city. On this occasion it was named " Monument of the Month March 2007" by the Monument Foundation Baden-Württemberg .
Overview of important astronomical clocks in Germany
With the reinstallation of the historical clockwork from 1589, the city of Esslingen in Germany has the only and oldest wrought-iron tower clock with an astronomical gearbox, which works again as in the Middle Ages with the help of sandstone weights and a pendulum.
Comparable in Germany, as an astronomical clock from this time, is the clock inside the church for St. Mary in Rostock . For the most part, it still has its functioning medieval clockwork.
The astronomical clock in the Strasbourg cathedral belongs to the circle of church clocks . Several modifications and new constructions of the clockwork were necessary over the centuries. Today's 3rd movement for the drive dates from 1843. The Strasbourg clock is considered the queen of monumental clocks.
There is also a large astronomical clock in the cathedral in Münster in Westphalia. After many modifications, a movement from 1930 now drives the various hands.
The Ulm City Hall is decorated with another comparable astronomical clock. The movement that drives it today is from 1952.
In Heilbronn am Rathaus, a similar clock was partially destroyed during the war. Reconstruction of the clockwork and restoration of the preserved facade of the art clock took place until 1953, it is operated electrically.
The Tübingen town hall also has an astronomical clock. Today, the drive is quartz-controlled, only the astronomical pointer mechanism dates from 1511.
Solothurn in Switzerland has a clock forty years older with an astronomical dial and figures. The clock in the “Zytglogga Tower” in Bern is famous and also comparable .
The Prague clock “Orloj” should also be placed in this row .
The Esslingen clock today
For the most part, the clock consists of the original parts from 1595. The wrought-iron frame was left as it was found. In some places, the protective red lead paint shimmers through.
As in the Middle Ages, it is driven by three heavy sandstone weights. The weights are lifted electrically - otherwise the watch would have to be wound by hand every day, like the one in Solothurn.
The accuracy is controlled by a Hörz escapement from 1889. You cannot say what was before, there are no documents.
In Esslingen, the carillon begins every day at exactly 12 noon: the accuracy of the clockwork must meet today's requirements. A “walking aid” was therefore built in to help with the downforce, ie. H. behind the medieval clock, if necessary, makes a correction. The accuracy that can be achieved in this way is approx. +/- 20 seconds.
The time hands are driven by the clockwork directly via a so-called pointer line (12 mm wire) which shows the time under the clock on the next floor - purely mechanically. The hands of the astronomical dial are driven by the astronomical gear from 1589. The sun hand makes one clockwise rotation in 365.25 days. The moon hand needs 27.32 days for one revolution in the same direction of rotation. The dragon hand makes one revolution counterclockwise in 18.61 years. With these movements, full and new moon, solar and lunar eclipses can be read. Thanks to an additionally built-in correction gear, it is not necessary to readjust the astronomical displays for the next 500 years. The old clockwork is also responsible for the moon phase display and for the quarter-hour strike, in which the two virtues Justitia (justice) and Temperantia (moderation) are moved. The hour strike is also triggered by the medieval clockwork. The wings of the imperial eagle are moved purely mechanically.
Association for the preservation of the historical clock at the old town hall eV
After the watch parts were found in the basement of the property office in July 2003, the association with seven members was founded in January 2004. The aim was to preserve the movement, restore it and install it in its old location with all of its original functions. The city agreed to these plans, with all costs being borne by the association.
The chair was taken over by Peter Köhle, who was responsible for management, organization and fundraising (€ 110,000). His deputy, Hans Scheurenbrand, was in charge of the technology and calculation of the entire movement. He brought experience from the clock in the pilgrimage church Birnau on Lake Constance and the town hall clock in Neidlingen .
In January 2006, the contract for restoration was awarded to the Klaus Ferner company in Niederau near Meissen. In October 2007 the installation in the old town hall started and at the same time another order for the peripheral connections (eagle, day regent, Justitia - Temperantia, moon disk) was placed.
In January 2007 the association achieved its goal: the clock is running again in the old place with all functions. For another ten years the association has committed itself to ensuring that the clock runs correctly at its own expense.
The Monument Foundation Baden-Württemberg named the Uhe Monument of the Month in March 2007 .
literature
- Peter Köhle: The clock on the old town hall in Esslingen am Neckar. Anton H. Konrad Verlag, Weißenhorn 2003, ISBN 3-87437-471-8 .
- Hans-Peter Münzenmayer: The clock is sure to go wrong. In: The preservation of monuments. 65, Issue 1, 2007, ISSN 0947-031X , pp. 61-64.
Web links
- The historic clockwork of the city of Esslingen
- The clock at the old town hall of Esslingen (Video, 40 MB)
Coordinates: 48 ° 44 ′ 33 " N , 9 ° 18 ′ 27.66" E