Orologio astronomico
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Prague's astronomical clock, the Orloj, is on the tower of the Old Town Hall. Its oldest part dates from 1410 and it still works today.
A town hall and its clock
The Old Town Hall was founded in 1338, with the permission of King John of Luxembourg. Its oldest part is the Gothic tower with a chapel and the clock.
How to read the Orloj
The astronomical dial shows the position of the Sun and the Moon and the signs of the zodiac. Below it is the calendar with scenes of the months. At the sides stand figures that move every hour.
The clock also showed old Bohemian time, with golden Gothic numerals. It also shows Babylonian hours, longer in summer and shorter in winter.
A story of repairs
At the end of the 1400s the mechanism was improved. In 1865 the clock stopped and was saved by the clockmaker Ludvík Hainz.
In May 1945 the Town Hall was hit during the Prague uprising and the clock was damaged. It was repaired, and the new apostle figures arrived in 1948.
Every hour a small crowd gathers in front of the tower to watch the show. It lasts only a few seconds, but young and old remember it.
