Astronomical Clock

INFORMATION & DETAILS

The Astronomical Clock is probably Prague´s most famous sight. Crowds gather here every hour to watch the little performance-taking place on it. The legend tells that it’s maker, Master Hanuš of the Rose, was blinded as a reward for making the clock not to create another one somewhere else, however, the clock dates many years back. It was made already in 1410, however thanks to various reconstructions it became what it is today: a very complex device for time measurement. The golden hand indicates three different options of time measurement: Central European time, stellar time and the historic Old Bohemian time. This time is modelled on the Jewish time as it goes from dusk to dusk. Furthermore, according to this clock you can measure how the sun moves on the horizon, you can tell the phases of the moon, etc. The statues along the clock symbolize death and the three deadly vices: vanity - represented by the man with a mirror, evil - Jewish figure, as Jews were thought to be the impersonifications of all evils, and lust - a Turkish merchant. The lower clock, a calendar, comes from the year 1865 and was painted by the famous Czech painter Josef Manes. The pictures in the middle indicate a romanticized version of occupations of people in the Czech countryside in the 19th century.

Back to tour