The Prague Astronomical Clock

The Prague Astronomical Clock (Czech: Staroměstský orloj or Pražský orloj) is a medieval astronomical clock in the center of Prague. The clockwork is attached to the southern wall of the Old Town Hall on Old Town Square in Prague's Old Town.

The whole consists of three main parts.

The first part in the middle, the astronomical dial, indicates the time and shows the position of the sun and moon. The clock shows five kinds of time:

• Prague local time,
• The time, measured in a division of twelve hours between sunrise and sunset; the so-called unequal hours. They are longer or shorter from day to day because the period between sunrise and sunset differs every day,
• The time, measured in a twenty-four-hour division that indicates how far the sun is from the moment of sunset, the so-called Bohemian or Italian hours,
• The place of the sun in the zodiac or zodiac,
• The star time.

The movement consists of three discs: a fixed disc in the center and the independently rotating outer rim and zodiac ring. There are three hands: the hand with the hand, the sun that slides back and forth on that hand and the hand with the star that is permanently connected to the zodiac disc.

The second section at the top is the Parade of the Apostles. Every hour two small doors open and a parade of apostles passes by.

The third part at the bottom is a dial with medallions representing the months and on which the saint is indicated for each day.

The oldest part of the clock dates from the early fifteenth century. However, the apostles were not added until 1865. According to a legend, when the timepiece was finished in Prague, the maker of the timepiece in Prague was blinded so that he could no longer make such a timepiece for another city.

The scene can be admired every hour and there are often hundreds of people watching, amazing because the whole spectacle lasts less than three minutes and is literally over in no time. It's not really that special either. Still, as a tourist, I think you should have seen it once.