A medieval astronomical clock is situated in Staroměstké náměstí (Old Town Square) in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Are you asking yourself a question: what is so special about this clock?
First of all, it looks fantastic! Secondly, it was made in 1410 (and it is still working) and thirdly, there are really cool things and legends about this clock that you might want to know!
If you come to Prague, be sure to visit Staroměstké náměstí. This place is overcrowded all the time, but Pražský orloj is really a thing you should see! If you come on the hour (by this we mean you come at the beginning of an hour - 12:00, 13:00, 14:00,...) you can see a lovely clock show that includes Apostles and Death. It may sound as a weird combination, but the show is really something! Apart from mesasuring time, Orloj also display the position of the Sun and the Moon and shows astronomical cycles and this machine even shows the days and the months. So, if you come to visit, be sure to take a profound look at this amazing clock.
Master Hanuš
The most famous legend connected to Orloj is about its creator Master Hanuš (in fact, Orloj was made by Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel). It is said that Master Hanuš made Orloj so perfect, that the councillors of Prague who had asked him to make it became scared that this unique machine could be also in another town and they wanted to get rid of him. So one night a group of people broke into the house of Master Hanuš and blinded him. However, he knew exactly who stood behind it and wanted revenge. He asked one of his friends to accompany him to the heart of Orloj and together they stopped the clockwork and it remained broken for another century.
Photos and description
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| Astronomical dial -notice the North Pole is down |
Can you see these Latin words? There are four of them and each of them has something to do with Sun. Avrora means Dawn, Ortvs stands for Sunrise, Occasvs is Sunset and Crepvscvlvm means Dusk. Two of them are on the left and two of them on right, left side stands for the East and the right side for the West.
Take a closer look. Can you see these figures? Let's go from the left to right. The person int he left top corner is a vain man. The thing in his hand is a mirror so that he could check that he looks good. His neighbor is a miser. He is holding a purse and a stick. In the top right corner is a skeleton/death. He is measuring the time and ring the knell. His neighbor is a Turk - a symbol of pleasure in the negative meaning. In the left down corner is standing a philosopher who is observing the world around him, right next to him is an archangel Michael. In the down right corner is standing an astonomer who is watching the sky and next to him is a chronicler doing his job - writing down everything that is going on.
And now, let us ask you a question: Don't you find the Prague Orloj fascinating?
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