1410 ~ Astronomical Clock ~ Prague

This master piece was made by Hanuš in Prague, Czech Republic
apparently, the story goes, that:

The Councillors of Prague wanted to be absolutely sure
that the master horoligist / clock-watchmaker Hanuš
would never be able to make anything like this,
for any other city....
so, the story goes, that they conspired to do something horrible,
and, the direct result of this conspiracy was that, he ended up blind.

Hanuš was furious, so, in retaliation mode,
he went to the location of the clock...
and, he proceeded to break quite a few critical, and, crucial pieces
that were inside of the clock, that make it work...
and, as, a direct result, the clock stopped working entirely.

Hanuš designed this clock, as, if he had stepped out of the pages of 'future' time...
and, over the course of 100's years, with many people working on its design,
that a team of folks, were able to unlock "The Secrets" to its intrique design.

Susan Lynne Schwenger
@13linesofspirit
@in12d

 

A Unique Clock in Prague
BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Street vendors vie for the attention of passing tourists. A medley of laughter, chatter in different languages, and blaring music fills the square. But wait! Why is the crowd quieting down? It is almost the top of the hour, and all eyes are fixed on two blue windows on the tower of the town hall. Suddenly the windows slide open, and figures representing the apostles of Christ appear. Peter, bearing a large key, heads the procession. As the 12 figures take their turns at the windows, two by two, they seem to survey the crowd below.
WE ARE witnessing the spectacle of the astronomical clock on the Old Town Hall of Prague, in the Czech Republic. Every hour on the hour from eight in the morning until eight at night, this amazing mechanism springs to life. Besides the mechanical parade of apostles, there are other moving figures on the outside of the clock. These portray the things that the people of Prague used to fear the most. On one side, weighing his purse in his hand, stands the Miser, representing greed. Near him is Vanity—a man admiring himself in a mirror. Both the Miser and Vanity nod in self-approval. On the other side of the clock stands the skeleton—Death—who tolls a bell with one bony hand and turns over an hourglass with the other. All the while, the skeleton opens and closes its toothy jaws and nods toward the Turk—representing invasion—who stands next to him. The Turk shakes his head, refusing to go with him.
The story is told of a sparrow that flew into the skeleton’s mouth just as it shut for the last time in the performance. The hapless sparrow was imprisoned there for an hour before the skeleton opened its mouth again! If people in today’s computerized age are fascinated by this entirely mechanical marvel, can you imagine the impression it made on those living hundreds of years ago?
A Closer Look at the Clock
Tourists naturally concentrate primarily on the moving characters, which were added during the centuries after the clock was first installed. But the clock’s oldest and most ingenious element is the astronomical dial. What can it tell us? First, the time. The black outer ring is marked with gold Gothic numerals according to the old Czech system of dividing the day into 24 hours beginning at sundown. This ring rotates so that the 24th hour always coincides with sunset, regardless of the season. Roman numerals just inside the outer ring divide the day into two 12-hour periods, with noon at the top and midnight at the bottom. The fingers of a golden hand point to the time of day.
Also on the astronomical dial, the movement of a large golden disk indicates the path of the sun, while a small sphere shows the phases of the moon. The apparent rotation of the starry skies around the earth is shown by a smaller, eccentric ring that is marked with the signs of the constellations. Fixed in the middle of the face is the earth, including its meridians, parallels, and poles, with Prague at the center. On the face are also three circles representing the equator and the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The dial thus shows the relative positions of earth, moon, sun, and stars throughout the year. Below the astronomical dial is the calendar disk, on which country scenes are painted to depict each month of the year. The calendar disk indicates the date by advancing one of 365 steps each night at midnight, except for one night during leap year.
A look inside the mechanism of the clock reveals a mind-boggling array of big and little wheels. The complicated device is cared for by a mechanic, who checks it thoroughly every week.
The History of the Astronomical Clock
There are many legends linked to Prague’s astronomical clock. According to one, a certain Master Hanuš constructed it. So outstanding was the masterpiece that town authorities feared he would build similar clocks elsewhere, thus stealing fame from Prague. To prevent him from doing so, they hired men to assault and blind Master Hanuš. The legend ends with the dying Hanuš reaching into the wheels of the clock and destroying it.
Happily, this is just a tall tale. But Hanuš was a real person, a clockmaker in Prague from 1475 to 1497. For many years experts believed that it was he who made the astronomical clock. However, recent research shows that Mikuláš of Kadaň constructed the clock as early as 1410. Hanuš rebuilt it in 1490. Since the 16th century, the timekeeping mechanism has been repaired and rebuilt several times. Since being rebuilt in 1865, however, most of its components have remained.
At the end of World War II, Nazi forces set fire to the Old Town Hall as they pulled out of Prague. The astronomical clock was badly damaged. After the war two main proposals to restore the clock were considered—to return it to its original appearance or to supply it with new dials and figures that had a completely different symbolism. In Prague, atheistic thinking was on the rise, and figures of the apostles were not favored by the Communist authorities. Before the design was altered, however, three master watchmakers demonstrated that the clock could be repaired, and so it was restored to its prewar appearance. Thus, today we still see a miser, a skeleton, a Turk, and the apostles, rather than, say, a carpenter, a bricklayer, a tailor, and a laundress.
Finally the Cock Crows
Twelve apostles march in the astronomical clock’s procession, but some details are not really Biblical. Judas Iscariot and James the son of Alphaeus have been replaced by Paul and Barnabas, who are not counted among the 12 in the Bible. (Acts 1:12-26) Around the head of each apostle is a halo—a pagan symbol that was not used by the early Christians.
After the last apostolic figure makes its appearance, a gilded cock roosting above the windows crows. The hour is rung, the windows close, and the crowd begins to disperse. Would you like to see it all again? Well, we will have to wait another hour. Meanwhile, we can study the face of this clock, which has been attracting visitors to Prague’s Old Town Hall for nearly 600 years.
[Diagram/Picture on page 17]
(For fully formatted text, see publication)
THE ASTRONOMICAL DIAL
Current time 12:57 p.m.
Sunset 5:21 p.m.
[Diagram/Picture on page 18]
(For fully formatted text, see publication)
THE CALENDAR DISK
Date indicated January 1
[Picture on page 16]
Vanity and the Miser
[Picture on page 17]
Death and the Turk

A Unique Clock in Prague — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (jw.org)
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102000368

 

When the clock strikes the hour, the procession of the Twelve Apostles,
Chrisťs disciples, and other figures on the astronomical clock are set in motion.

The apostles appear in the windows of the clock, where each can be recognized by his attribute.

 

What are the twelve statues of the Apostles on the clock?

Every hour of the day, twelve statues of Apostles
with its attributes appear at the doorways above the clock.

The Apostles appear in the left and right windows
of the astronomical clock as viewed from the square in this order:
James and Peter,
Andrew and Matthias,
Thaddeus and Philip,
Thomas and Paul,
John and Simon,
Barnabas and Bartholomew .

 

What do the symbols on the astronomical clock mean?

They are located in the upper windows of the Astronomical Clock
and appear every time the clock strikes the hour.

Around the 12 disciples,
there are four figures
representing some of the capital vices,
such as vanity, portrayed by a man looking at himself in the mirror,
greed, illustrated by a man holding a moneybag,
and a figure representing lust.

 

What are some examples of astronomical clocks?
The Gros Horloge has a movement built in 1389,
with a dial added in 1529.

It indicates the moon phase on a rotating sphere above the dial,
and the day of the week in an aperture at the base of the dial.

Saint-Omer.


The Saint-Omer astronomical clock [ fr]
in Saint-Omer Cathedral is an astrolabe clock of 1558. Strasbourg.

The astronomical clock in Saint-Omer Cathedral is a calendar clock, an astrolabe clock
(position of the stars and constellations) and an astrological clock (signs of the zodiac). [FR]

L'horloge astronomique de la cathédrale de Saint-Omer est une horloge calendrier,
une horloge astrolabe (position des astres et constellations) et une horloge astrologique (signes du zodiaque).

 

Astronomical Clock - 12 Apostles, Prague
video

View: https://youtu.be/hyGfd1b9UzU

 

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More photos
St Peter – key

He is considered the first of the apostles and also the first pope in the history of the Church. He is likewise the one who starts the procession of the Apostles on the Prague Astronomical Clock. He was called to become the fisher of men; which is why he is the patron saint of fishermen. Christ gave him the key to the kingdom of heaven, which became his attribute.



St Matthias – axe

The axe is the symbol of St Matthias because his marfyr's death took the form of beheading. He is the patron saint of construction craftsmen, confectioners, and tailors.




St John – challce

John the Apostle and Evangelist was first the disciple of John the Baptist and later Jesus Christ. He is the patron saint of clerks and notaries, as well as sculptors, painters, scribes, writers, booksellers, printers, engravers, and book binders.



St Andrew – X-shaped Cross

He was a fisherman and Chrisťs first disciple. He is the patron saint of farmers, fishermen, and brides. The X-shaped cross accompanies him because he was martyred on such a cross. The feast of St Andrew used to be considered the most important prophetic day of the year.


St Philip – a cross

St Philip the Apostle lived in the 1.st century. He made his living as a fisherman, and was later among the early followers of Jesus Christ, preaching the gospel in Asia Minor. He is the patron saint of hatters, tanners, confectioners, and shopkeepers.



St Jacob Less - fuller's club

St James was Jesus Chrisťs favourite apostle. He died a martyr's death. According to the Golden Legend, he was stoned and beaten to death with a fuller's club, which became his attribute.




St Paul – sword, book

St Paul of Tarsus, or Saul, who was credited with being among the first to spread Christianity among the Gentiles, is usually depicted with a sword or a book. The New Testament tells of his fate. He is the patron saint for those in fear, weavers, and rope makers.




St Thomas – lance

He was a builder and bricklayer, later he probably worked as a fisherman. As one of Chrisťs disciples, he is often referred to as Doubting Thomas.He is the patron of archifects, bricklayers, builders, architects, geodesists, surveyors, design engineers, stone masons, construction workers, carpenters, and theologians.




St Simon – saw

He was also called Zealot. He spread the gospel and underwent martyrdom when he was first crucified and then put to death by a saw, which become his attribute. He is the patron saint of lumberjacks, dyers, and tanners.




St Jude Thaddaeus - club

Jude Thaddaeus was a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, often referred to as The Magnanimous. He is the patron of those in severe distress and a protector in hopeless situations.




St Bartholomew – pelt

According to tradition, he came from Cana in Galilee and spread the gospel in Asia Minor and the Arabian Peninsula. According to legend, he was sentenced to the Persian capital punishment, i.e., skinned and crucified. He is the patron saint of butchers, tanners, fur trappers, cobblers, tailors, and boot makers.




St Barnaby – scroll

He lived in the 1st century and was among Chrisťs first disciples. Originally from Cyprus, he mainly spread the gospel in Asia Minor and Cyprus. Legend describes his death by stoning. He is the protector against devastating fires and the patron of coopers and weavers.

• Astronomical Clock
  
  The mediaeval tower clock is located at the southern side of the Old Town Hall Tower.