Prague Astronomical Clock: history and sculptural decoration. Legend of the Prague Orloj, astronomical clock in Prague

The Old Town Square (Staromestske namesti) is undoubtedly one of the main, most beautiful and fabulous squares in Prague. The Old Town Square is located in the historical center of Prague, on the side of Stare Mesto. The location of the Old Town Square is also called the Old Town Square.

Old Town Square is perhaps the most large area old Prague. The place is quite piquant, and all thanks to the fact that the square is concentrated a large number of attractions that, like a magnet, attract tourists from all over the world.

In addition to the mass of the main city attractions, the square itself is surrounded by city houses with facades, some more beautiful than others, intertwining several architectural styles: Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo. All this together forms a fabulous view and a festive atmosphere of the entire square.

The history of the Old Town Square or Staromak, it was also called that, began in the 10th century. Then it was the central market square, surrounded by taverns and inns. Gradually, the city began to grow around the square. During its existence, the square has been gifted rich history, even in ancient times, coronation processions marched on the square, as well as clashes of estates and executions. After the abolition of public executions, various fairs, holidays and folk festivals began to take place on the square.

To this day, the atmosphere of celebration and general fun reigns on the square. Tents are set up around the perimeter, from which there is a lively trade in souvenirs and. From the tents with street food comes a simply amazing smell of sweet trdeliki and smoked pork knee. It is simply impossible to pass by and not try the delicacy.

A stage is set up in the center of the square and concerts are held

On the square and the old town you can arrange a ride on horseback. And street performers entertain honest people. All this together looks very interesting and exciting.

The main attraction of the square is the City Hall, towering and visible from many points of the old city, it is also called Old Town Hall/Staromestska radnice.

The Old Town Hall was built on the square in 1338 as the seat of city government and at first was called the City Hall, it was the first grandiose building on the square in those days. After, in 1410, an astronomical clock was installed on the town hall, the very famous Prague Orloj. During his long existence The town hall was repeatedly restored and expanded. At present, you can still enjoy the oldest part of the town hall complex, this is a Gothic tower with a bay window chapel and a unique astronomical clock.

It is on this town hall, the clock tower, that one of the most famous clocks in the world is located - astronomical clock eagle/Prazsky Orloj. Perhaps, the Old Town Hall, along with the Orla clock, is not only the main attraction of the square, but of the whole of Prague, if not the Czech Republic.

The Prague chimes Orloj are a very complex mechanism, on the creation of which at one time he worked the best master watchmaker - Mikulas from Copenhagen. When creating watches, Mikulas consulted the best mathematician and astronomer of his time, Jan Shindel. The most interesting thing is that the main legend surrounding these clocks is not connected at all with their ancestor, but with a completely different master - Ganush, who later refined the chimes. After his work, Ganush was blinded by the city authorities so that he could never again create the same clock for another city.

The Orloi watch mechanism is considered very complex to this day, since on the clock you can see not only the time of day and the current date, but also the time of sunset and sunrise of the Moon and the Sun, as well as the location of all 12 signs of the zodiac and the position of the Earth relative to the Sun. These are the outstanding and beautiful watches made by masters of the 14th century.

For the entertainment of ordinary citizens, clocks were invented and installed characters, which, to the sound of the clock, moved, each performing its role. So the clock turned into medieval theater. And to this day, every hour (from 9.00 to 23.00), under the chimes, the figures on the clock come to life. In the two windows above the clock face, you can see the 12 apostles moving alternately.

In addition to the apostles, there are nine more figures on the clock, each playing their own role: the Skeleton (Czech Death) turns the clock and rings inviting you to follow him, the Arrogant looking at himself in the mirror, the Miser has a bag of money in his hands, the Turk (a symbol of pleasure and vice) negatively shakes the skeleton head, because he does not want to leave at the sign of Death. The whole performance is completed by the trumpeter, who goes out to the platform under the arches of the town hall and solemnly celebrates the new hour.

Thanks to this concert, every hour hundreds of tourists gather on the Old Town Square under the Orla clock, each one will take a picture or film such an exciting performance. All this, of course, must be seen with one's own eyes. The video does not convey all the charm of the concert of the figures, but the general atmosphere of delight and “holiday” is perfectly visible:

At the very top of the Old Town Hall is located viewpoint, you can climb up to the platform and admire the beautiful panorama of the old town of Prague. Adult ticket 130 kroons, child, student and pension ticket - 80 Kc.

The main dominant of the Old Town Square, after the Old Town Hall, of course, is the two-tower Tynsky Temple/Tynsky chram. The true name of the Tyn Temple sounds like the Temple of the Virgin Mary before Tyn / Chram Matky Bozi pred Tynem. Tyn is the courtyard or Tyn courtyard, located just behind the Old Town Square. Hence the name of the Temple of the Virgin Mary, which became known as the Temple in front of Tyn or Tyn Temple.

Two buildings of the Old Town Square - the City Hall and the Tyn Church, once emphasized the importance of the square, which, from just a marketplace, turned into a historically significant one, and in the 60s of the 20th century became completely pedestrian.

The construction of the Tyn Temple began in 1365. Two asymmetrical towers of the temple, which became such after a strong fire, reach a height of 80 meters and are one of the main symbols of Prague. It is these two towers, as often as the Orloj clock, that can be seen on many postcards and magnets sold in the Czech Republic as souvenirs.

The entrance to the Temple was closed and photography was prohibited.

In the center, the Old Town Square is adorned with a conspicuous, huge bronze monument Art Nouveau dedicated to national hero Czech Republic Jan Husa/Pomnik mistra Jana Husa.

The statue of Jan Hus is depicted standing in the center sculptural group. On both sides of Jan there are sculptures symbolizing the Hussites and emigrants. The statue of Jan Hus is turned to face the Tyn Church.

To the right of the monument you can see beautiful building rococo style, pastel pink tones. This is one of the most memorable buildings on the square - Palac Kinskych. The palace was built in 1765 for Count Jan Armost Goelz. Currently, the Kinsky Palace operates as Art Gallery. On some holidays, admission to the gallery is free.

On the opposite side of the monument and the palace, the famous and visited by tourists whitens Cathedral of Saint Nicholas. It is one of the most famous baroque churches in Prague and one of the most valuable buildings of this style north of the Alps. The dome of the temple with a diameter of 20 meters and an internal height of 49 meters is the highest in Prague.

Church of St. Nicholas (translated from the Czech Temple of St. Mikulas / Chram sv. Mikulase), a majestic building that does not pass by any tourist. By the way, the only temple, and in general a place in Prague, to which, when we visited the Czech Republic, there was a free entrance, in all other places the entrance is paid.

The temple demonstrates luxurious decor in the high baroque style. And the temple is decorated with one of the largest sculptures of St. Nicholas in Europe.

The church of St. Nicholas houses a unique 18th century organ decorated with figures of angels. With this body concerts are held in the temple.

And the tall and beautiful vault of the Church of St. Mikulashi is decorated with a unique crystal chandelier in the form of an imperial crown. The chandelier was donated to the Cathedral by Emperor Alexander II.

Opposite the main entrance to the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, there is a green area with benches for relaxing, around which several cafes with outdoor terraces are concentrated.

P.S. The Old Town Square is beautiful in itself, and its sights, so conveniently located in one place, are also the main ones in the city and are simply mesmerizing. We came to the square almost every day, but how could it be otherwise, because all paths lead through it, and constantly admired it, as if for the first time, discovering something new. We recommend everyone to visit this world-famous square.

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Hello friends! For modern man clock is a completely ordinary mechanism with which we have to interact daily and many times. We are used to watches, and many of us have been using gadgets for a long time, with additional convenient applications. Today we will talk about a huge gadget of the Middle Ages. astronomical clock In Prague, they show not only the time. What else? What "applications" to the clock were important to people of past centuries, so much so that they "put" additional "programs" in the main clock of the city?

Attention! On January 9, 2018, the renovation of Orloi began in Prague. Now it will be possible to see them only in July 2018 (as the restorers plan).

Let's take a look at the unique movement of the famous Prague Clock modern look. View of the user, which is difficult to surprise with technical innovations. Especially a novelty that has worked for 6 hundred years.

Model description

Czechs call the Prague chimes Pražský orloj - the Prague Eagle and also the Old Town Eagle, since the clock is on the town hall building. Accordingly, the eagle is an unusual clockwork with additional programs.

This medieval clock, in addition to time, shows:

• calendar data (current year, month, day)
• the time of sunrise and sunset of the luminaries (Sun and Moon)
• position of the zodiac signs
• Moon phases
• the chimes interface includes a demonstration of time in three popular calculus systems: Old Prague, Babylonian and Latin
• the model is an organizer. It includes important holidays and events of the year. The clock will remind you of them.

Additional features:

• the ability to find out the time in 24 and 12-hour mode
• the watch includes 6 “video clips” important for a person of the Middle Ages, warning against major sins, reminding us of what awaits us all Last Judgment And you need to prepare for it every day of your life.

Note:

The clock was made in the 15th century.
Number of copies 1 (one).

Even now, in the age of advanced technology, the arrangement of the Prague Astronomical Clock is amazing. You can imagine how it impressed the inhabitants of medieval Prague.

Here are some reasons why the Prague Astronomical Clock is always mentioned among the most important sights of the city.

• The clock has been working for 6 centuries.

For ease of understanding this fact, compare:

America was discovered in 1492. The astronomical clock started working in 1410. Those. 80 years before the discovery of America. Russia at that time was coming out from under the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

• Some of the details of the mechanism are still original, medieval, so the Prague Clock is a historical monument.
• If you want to know what an old astrolabe looks like, look. The Prague chimes are the astrolabe.

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Instruction for users

Description of the Prague chimes is not an easy task. Firstly, they are beautiful and your eyes run wide, what to look at first, what to talk about. Secondly, all this beauty is attached to a mechanism consisting of many parts.

• Let's start with a large disk, in the center of which our planet Earth is depicted (11)
• On the same disk, along the edge, there are signs in Gothic script, which denoted the Old Bohemian time (1)
• Then there are Roman numerals. This is the dial we know. Shows german time (2)
• Then come Arabic numerals - 1, 2, 3, etc. They show Babylon time (3)
• Modern watches have 12 digits on their dial. On the Prague clock 24 (12+12 hours)
• Noon Above - XII (8)
• Midnight below - XII (13)
• The left side of the dial shows the time from 12 noon to 12 noon.
• The right half shows the time from 12 pm to 12 am.
• The blue color of the dial shows daylight hours.
• Orange - dawn.
• Arcs with the inscription ORTUS and OCCASUS indicate sunrise (5) and sunset (10)
• Brown (dark) - night time, when the sun is hidden behind the horizon (7)
• Upper (small disk) - shows the Zodiac (9)
• The signs of the Zodiac move in a circle and along their axis, making a complete phase.
• The arrow with the image of the Sun shows the time and in what sign the Sun is now (daily movement of the Zodiac) (4)
• Arrow with the Moon - shows what sign the Moon is in now (6)
• Pictured at 9 am. Sun in Libra, Moon on the border of Capricorn and Aquarius.
• The ball of the moon is endowed with a separate rotating mechanism showing the phases of the moon.
• The arrow with an asterisk indicates the day of the vernal equinox. (12)

The entire disk and arrows rotate, corresponding to the real movement of the celestial bodies in the sky. The clock indicates the position of the Sun, Moon, month and zodiac sign. Those. Orloi is not only a clock, but also a calendar.

It is this mechanism that is of unique value, because. he is the only one in the world.

Viewing "video clips"

From 9 am to 9 pm every 60 minutes, tourists and residents of Prague become witnesses of a real performance.

Four figures located on the side of the clock begin to move.

• The first of them - Death, symbolizes the frailty of everything that exists.
• A figurine holding a mirror is Vanity.
• Greed shrinks the wallet.
• And, finally, the last figurine - the Turk - a symbol of the danger that has come from the Ottoman Empire for many years.

The little play begins with Death pulling the string and the ringing of a bell. Death looks at the Turk, who just shakes his head. Greed squeezes the purse tightly with his hands, and Vanity admires himself in the mirror.

At the same time, the four figures on the sides of the lower clock begin to move. This clock is also interesting, because it reflects the holidays fixed in the calendar and recorded important dates and information about days.

Above the astronomical clock, windows open in which we see the apostles. In the hands of the apostles are objects. The figures move, each of the apostles performs its action. St. Matthew threatens with an ax, Peter squeezes the key.

And the show ends with a crowing of a rooster. The rooster sits at the very top of the composition.

The history of the creation of the eagle

The first question that comes to mind of any tourist who sees the Prague astronomical clock is “who and when created such a complex mechanism?”. To answer this question, let's go back to the Middle Ages. It was then, in 1410, that the oldest details of the chimes appeared. Their creators and manufacturers were Makulash and Jan Shindel.

By 1490, a calendar dial appeared on the device, for the creation of which Josef Manes was responsible. Around the same time, the first sculptures appeared next to the mechanism - examples of the Gothic style.

Of course, during its long history, the eagle stopped many times at a completely different reasons, was also brought to work many times.

There were tragic moments in the history of watches, after which one of the most famous sights of the city had to be restored.

• The clock was first restored in 1552 by Jan Taborski.
• The first moving statues became the decoration of the chimes in the 17th century.
• The figures of the Apostles were added later, in 1865-1866.

The chimes had a hard time during the hostilities of the Second World War. In the spring of 1945, it was badly damaged, and with it a unique mechanism. The greatest damage was done to the sculptures of the apostles. Then they almost completely burned out.

In 1948, wood carving master Vojtech Suharda took up the restoration of the watch. At the same time, the clock mechanism was also overhauled.

Truth or fiction

The legend of the master who created the complex clock mechanism is connected with the history of the Prague chimes. But the name of his century was not preserved. Perhaps it was master Jan Ruzhe or master Hanush. So that Hanush could never create something like this again, the city council (wow topic of the meeting) decided to blind him. The ingratitude of the citizens became the reason for Hanush's revenge. What could he do without eyes? Destroy your machine. He climbed the steps of the town hall and threw himself into the complex mechanism of the chimes. This caused the clock to stop.

The legend cannot be considered a 100% fiction. The mechanism, indeed, repeatedly stopped. But, unfortunately, the authorities of Prague could not always find money for its repair. This happened in 1778 and it was decided to simply dismantle the chimes. Jan Landesberger, a Prague watchmaker, prevented this from happening. He did the repairs with his own money.

This happened again in 1861. Then the clock was saved by the inhabitants of the city. They raised funds to repair the mechanism and once again the pride of the city was preserved for posterity.

FROM late XIX For centuries, the Heinz company has been repairing chimes.

You can hear and see how the clock strikes from 9 am to 9 pm every day, every 60 minutes.

You can see the figures of the Apostles up close and see part of the clock mechanism by taking a tour of the town hall. Take the elevator up there top floor and cling to the glass door.

Video about the Prague Eagle. In this video, you can see the mechanism of the clock, the figures close up. In Czech.

How to get there

• Metro. To the station Old Town Square (Staroměstská)
• by tram. Nos. 17, 18, 53 to the Staroměstská stop. When you get to the place, look for the municipality of the Old City.

Sightseeing tour of Prague

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Prague Astronomical Clock on the map

Address: Staroměstská radnice, Staroměstské náměstí 1/3, 110 00 Praha 1

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Old Town Hall (Staroměstská radnice).
Czech Republic, Prague (Praha). district Prague 1 - Stare Mesto (Praha 1 - Staré Město). Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměsti) 1.

Old city(Stare Mesto) located on the right bank of the Vltava river. It grew out of small settlements that arose at an important crossroads of trade routes between west and east and along the banks of the Vltava in the 10th century. Under King Wenceslas 1, who built powerful fortress walls in 1232-1234, Old city received city rights. But the official consent to the construction of a symbol of city power and the main meeting place for citizens, the City Hall, residents Old City waited over 100 years.

In 1338 the townspeople Old Place received a privilege from King John of Luxembourg (Johann of Luxembourg, also known as John (Jan) the Blind, Jan Lucemburský) for the construction of the Town Hall.

It arose as a result of the merger of several houses. The basis was the Gothic house of the wealthy merchant Volfin from Kamene, which the settlement acquired in 1338. Immediately after it was founded town hall, the construction of a tower about 70 meters high began. Its construction was completed in 1364. In 1381, a Gothic chapel was added to it.

To meet the administrative needs of a rapidly growing city, it was necessary to buy out neighboring city houses and attach them to City Hall. The second house was purchased in 1360 - on the second floor it is decorated with a Renaissance window. Above the Renaissance window is latin inscription: "Prag caput regni" ("Prague is the head of the empire"),reminiscent of the brilliant past of the city during the reign of the first Habsburg on the Czech throne - Ferdinand 1 (1526-1564). The next building, the house of the furrier Miksha, has a pseudo-Renaissance facade. The neighboring house - "At the rooster", built in the style of classicism, was acquired after 1830, and its modern look town hall acquired only in 1896, when the last part of the building was the house “At the Minute”, which protruded onto the square. Over the centuries, it has turned into a building amazing in its sophistication of architecture.
The main attraction of the Town Hall are the Astronomical Clock "Orloj" installed on the south side of the town hall tower. Built in 1410, the clock has been the symbol of Prague.

In 1784, four Prague cities were united and town hall became the main administrative body of the whole city.

During the Second World War, during the Prague uprising on May 7-8, 1945, the buildings were badly damaged. The archive burned down, many portraits of mayors. The fire completely destroyed the Neo-Gothic wing, damage was caused to the tower and chimes. There was only one small hall left that was spared by the fire.

Old Town Hall was about three times modern (not all restored after the war). Nowadays town hall is a complex of five houses. Each of the houses has its own character and is of historical and architectural value - the facades of the buildings are decorated with Renaissance elements, sculptures, unique paintings, decorated with the city coat of arms and commemorative inscriptions.
The richly decorated main portal leads to a vestibule with mosaics designed by Mikulas Alyos. The fully preserved old Councilors' Hall dates back to the 15th century, the Great Assembly Hall dates back to 1879-1880.

Currently, anyone can climb Town Hall tower towering over the city by almost 70 meters. From the town hall tower there is a beautiful view of Old Town Square.
It is possible to visit the dungeons of the Town Hall. In the second half of the 13th century, the ground level in the Old City was raised due to floods. Water during a severe flood flooded the first floor of buildings and did not leave for a long time. Thanks to the rise in the level of the ground, buildings from the 13th century have been preserved here. Then the first floors of 70 houses went underground - they were connected and used as market warehouses on Old Town Square.

And only when the shopping areas moved to a new part of Prague, the area began to be used for socially important events: royal weddings, coronations. One of the most popular entertainments was the execution. In the dungeons of the Town Hall, they made a prison for prisoners awaiting execution. They did not stay here longer than a week, only while the scaffold was being built.

Prague chimes

Prague chimes (Pražský orloj).
Czech Republic, Prague (Praha). district Prague 1 - Stare Mesto (Praha 1 - Staré Město). Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) 1/3.

Prague chimes, or Orloj (Pražský orloj, Old Town Clock)- a medieval tower clock installed on the southern wall of the tower of the Old Town Hall on the Old Town Square in Prague.
Every hour from 8 am to 8 pm there is an action in the spirit of the Middle Ages, when the apostles appear one after another in the upper windows and Jesus is the final participant. At the same time, a little lower, on the sides, the figures also begin to move. Moving objects symbolize human vices. Thus, the skeleton, which symbolizes death, turns the clock over and nods to the Turk, and the Turk shakes his head negatively. On the other side, the Miser shakes the wallet, and the Angel with the ball punishes him, being the embodiment of punishment for sinners. The end of the performance is marked by the crowing of a rooster.

Orloi chimes (orloj is translated from Czech as “tower clock”) display a lot of information. In addition to the time itself, you can see the current date, the time of sunset and sunrise of the Moon and the Sun, the current location of the signs of the Zodiac, even the position of the Earth relative to the Sun.

The oldest watch parts date back to 1410 and were made by watchmakers Mikulas Kadan and Jan Schindel. Jan Schindel was also professor of mathematics and astronomy at Charles University. Around 1490, a calendar dial was added to the clock, and at the same time, the facade of the clock was decorated with Gothic sculptures. Already in 1552, the watch was restored by watchmaker Jan Taborsky. In the future, the clock stopped many times, in the 17th century moving figures were added. The figures of the apostles were added during the overhaul of 1865-1866.

During the Second World War Prague Astronomical Clock significant damage was inflicted, on May 7 and May 8, 1945, during the suppression of the Czech underground by German troops, was fired upon, resulting in a fire. Most severely burned wooden sculptures apostles, which were restored in 1948 by the woodworker Vojtěch Suharda (Vojtěch Sucharda). The clock started working again only in 1948 after a major overhaul.

FROM Prague clock many legends are associated. The most famous tells about the fate of master Ganush. Having finished his work, the illustrious watchmaker invited the city fathers to his workshop, located right there, in the Town Hall tower. They really liked the updated chimes, but the mere thought that the master could make something similar for someone else plunged them into horror. And then, by order of the Prague magistrate, Hanush was blinded. “So that there is no such miracle anywhere except in Prague”, said the verdict.
Legends tell that Ganush took revenge on ungrateful officials. He penetrated the tower and disabled the unique clock mechanism. For almost 150 years, no one could fix the chimes, and those who tried died or went crazy. This time was the most difficult for the Czech Republic. The German crusaders defeated the troops of the Czech Protestants, the independent Czech kingdom ceased to exist, the country fell under Austrian rule for almost 400 years, and Czech banned from official use...

Praguers have a belief: if the clock on the town hall stops, then the Czech Republic will again be in trouble. To prevent this from happening, the work of the chimes is monitored by an expert council of the best watchmakers under the capital's magistrate. And every week there is a preventive examination.

town hall tower	gothic chapel
house at the minute		Top of the Prague Clock
Vanity and Avarice	upper dial	Death and the Turk
Philosopher and Punishing Angel	lower dial	Astronomer and Chronicler
stairs to the observation deck	for lazy people - elevator	on the observation deck
rooftops of the old city	view of the Church of the Virgin Mary in front of Týn	house view

Hello, friends! The Orloj clock in Prague deserves to be told in detail. famous chimes The Czech Republic bypassed all similar watch mechanisms in the world in terms of the duration of its existence. Created at the beginning of the 15th century, they still function and show Central European time, as well as Old Bohemian and Babylonian.

But viewers are rushing to the Prague Eagle not at all in order to get their bearings in time. The astronomical clock is unique. They are at the same time a work of art, a scientific and historical object and entertainment for visitors, where they are.

It would be more logical before embarking on detailed descriptions, to provide an opportunity to look directly at the chimes, their action, and at those numerous ones among which they are located. A short video will quickly plunge into the thick of things:

And now you can dwell on some details - who is involved in the astronomical clock, what symbols surround them, and what they are famous for:

1. How the Prague Orloj appeared
2. Astronomical disc and timing
3. Symbolic images of chimes

Who and when created Pražský orloj

The first chimes did not appear at the end of the 14th century, when Wenceslas IV ordered to install a percussion mechanism on the Gothic tower that emits signals after an hour.

A little more time passed, and in 1410 the town hall tower was equipped with an amazing astronomical clock.

Orloi was created by watchmaker Mikulash from Kadani, guided by the calculations and drawings of the mathematician and astronomer Jan Shindel.

Master Hanus was the name of the Prague watchmaker Jan Ruzhe, who was directly related to the chimes of the town hall, but somewhat later. Master Ganush had not yet been born by the time Orloi not only beat time intervals regularly, but also won European fame.

New facts about the author of the Prague Orloj were discovered recently - after 1980. This is how history can lead us by the nose... For centuries, Praguers believed that Ganush created the chimes, and passed from mouth to mouth legends about how cruel city councilors ordered the master to be blinded so that he could not repeat his invention. Fortunately, this sophisticated medieval cruelty turned out to be only a legend.

But a document was found that recorded a generous reward for the inventor of the Prague Astronomical Clock Mikulas from Kadani. The master was given a house at the Havel Gate and 3,000 Prague groszy, which was unusual for those times. large sum. Moreover, an annual salary of 600 groszy was assigned and property guarantees were provided - in fact, copyrights were protected.

Astronomical disk and how to determine the usual time

For a long time, Orloi consisted of only one disk - the astronomical one. Actually, they created a mechanism for the needs of astrology, and not in order to tell the residents the time. The astronomical disc is a special moving map of the sky, with which you can determine the position of the Sun, Moon, as well as their location relative to the zodiac constellations.

Imagine, this whole colossus moves, demonstrates a lot of information, and we, modern residents, look at this disk and don’t even know how to understand what time it is))) But now we’ll figure it out.

The Earth is depicted exactly in the center. The upper part of the disk corresponds to the daytime - it is bluish in color. And the dark circle at the bottom is the night. Twilight is marked between day and night orange. A ring is superimposed on this whole picture, on which the signs of the zodiac are depicted, but the ring has nothing to do with determining time.

The present time is indicated by an arrow with the symbol of the Sun and a golden Hand. The only catch is that this hand points to three numerical scales at the same time. And where do we need? Along the edge of the disk are numbers in the form of some “squiggles” - this is the Old Czech time. Interestingly, in this coordinate system, the day ended with the onset of twilight.

The following digital characters in the Roman designation, also placed in a circle, are the European time. Now you can easily determine what time I captured the astronomical disk in the photo.

There are also Arabic numerals - they go below the Roman ones and are depicted weaker. Arabic numerals allow you to determine the Babylonian time. It also includes that grid of golden curved lines radiating from the center of the disk. Fortunately, we do not need it, and there is no need to delve into these medieval indicators.

What else I would like to add regarding the installation of the astronomical clock is to mention the merit of the architect Piotr Parler, who created a stone extension to the town hall, where the chimes were placed. The stone trim around the astronomical disk is also his work.

I repeat, the definition of time is almost a side function of Orloi. The main thing is to track the movement celestial bodies. And on the astronomical disk, the symbols of the Sun and the Moon move not only in a circle, but also along the arrow. The disc with the zodiac is also moving… Experts read information from all this. But they did not try to determine the minutes in the Middle Ages. Residents of that time were not interested in such trifles.

In 1490 Orla was supplemented with another disk. A calendar was placed on the disk, including all 365 days in the form of divisions along the rim of the disk. The appearance of the calendar is just correlated with the activities of the master Ganush.

Each evening, the calendar disc was manually rotated one notch, a practice that continued until 1566. Since then, the movement of the calendar board has been mechanized.

The attractive calendar disk that we are seeing now appeared much later. AT mid-nineteenth century watches needed overhaul. A collection of money was announced for this plausible cause among the population of the Czech Republic. 4,265 gold pieces were collected. And the best Prague artist of that time, Josef Manes, took up the design of the calendar disk for a modest fee. And although we see today only a recreated copy, it is close to the original:

Manes depicted the coat of arms of Prague in the center of the disk, and around it the original signs of the zodiac. 12 golden disks with images, which are arranged in a circle, make up a series of paintings "Twelve Months". Each painting represents the features of a medieval rural life during a certain month. The designation of days, as in earlier versions, is located on the outer ring of the disc. Where can you see what day it is? Look at the mark with a golden line at the top of the calendar. It shows both the date and the day of the week.

Symbolic images of chimes

Of great interest are the figures installed on both sides of the astronomical and calendar disk. The sculptures near the upper disk, as you noticed while watching the video, are set in motion during the chimes. It is believed that these images represent 4 vices, although this opinion raises questions.

On the right are the Skeleton and the Turk. The skeleton symbolizes death, reminds of its inevitability. Can this allegory be attributed to vices? This image appeared on the chimes first, back in the 16th century.

The placement of the turbaned figure next to the Skeleton is even more mysterious. The Czech Republic in the Middle Ages often used the image of the Turk in a negative context. So, for example, the plot “a raven pecking out the eye of a Turk” appeared on the coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family. Perhaps, in this case, the image of the Turk denotes vicious features.

To the left of the astronomical disk are more understandable images. Allegories of avarice and vanity are set here:

Vanity peers into the mirror, Avarice shakes the bag of money. However, there are disagreements in the interpretation of these images. It is assumed that the Magician is installed on the far left, studying the invisible worlds, which is associated with knowledge, and not vice.

Below, at the calendar disk, the Philosopher and the Archangel Michael are located on the left, and the Astronomer and the Chronicler are on the right.

These images of Pražský orloj are always in sight. But if you watched the video, you paid attention to the procession of the apostles, which takes place during the mini-performance of the chimes. The windows above the astronomical disk on both sides of the sculpture of the Angel open and 12 disciples of Christ pass in front of us. And the whole action ends with the cry of the Golden Rooster.

The appearance of the figurines of the apostles is associated with the reconstruction of the chimes in 1659. The figures are made of wood, so they had to be restored several times. The current company of apostles was created by the sculptor Vojtech Suharda.

The last of the images was installed in its place by the Rooster. Praguers heard it for the first time on December 31, 1882.

In conclusion, I want to say that the Prague Orloj is a mystery object. However, this is not surprising. Astronomical clocks were created in order to display information that is far from clear to everyone. And they have such a long age that they could not do without riddles and legends. I suppose, friends, that many of you have heard something interesting about the Prague Astronomical Clock. If so, please tell us.

Your euro guide Tatiana

Master Ganush explained why all this, talked about the movement of the Moon, Earth and Sun, taught to determine the time and date. For a long time people still ran to the clock to look at the spectacle that had never been seen before. Watchmakers were especially surprised. Master Ganush kept his word and created a clock that was not in any city!

However, the watchmaker did not become proud, continued to sit in his small room and draw new drawings, and his assistant excitedly told people that his master was preparing a new work that would be even better and more amazing than the Old Town chimes. The councilors of the Old Place found out about this, and this news worried them, they thought that the master Ganush was preparing a new clock for another city, they did not want the glory of the Prague Astronomical Clock to fade, and they began to think how to prevent this from happening. Some suggested taking a written promise from the master not to make more such watches, others suggested taking a verbal promise from the master, but all this seemed insufficiently reliable to the advisers, until one of them said: “Why should we demand promises that we can’t rely on anyway? Want to have the best chimes in the world? Then you don’t have to reckon with anything, but take advantage of the only opportunity to interfere with Master Ganush in his further work. We won’t do anything bad to him, the city will take care of him, even though he won’t work anymore.” Everyone was afraid of such an offer, but that adviser convinced everyone.

And then one night, master Ganush was sitting in his room, drawing drawings and was calm, not feeling the approach of danger. There was a knock on the door, the master was frightened by sharp blows, and with old steps he went to the door to close it with a bolt, but did not have time. Two people with covered faces burst into the room and knocked the master down, he hit his head on the table and lost consciousness.

An assistant who came in the morning found his master lying in a fever on the bed, the old man was blindfolded, he tossed about on the bed and asked to turn on the light. The frightened assistant hurried to ask the neighbors if anyone knew what had happened during the night. And the old man kept asking to turn on the light. They carefully removed the bandage and were horrified: they realized that the night visitors had deprived the master of his sight with a red-hot iron.

The news of the incident spread throughout Prague, the people demanded to punish the villains, but they could not be found. old master long been between life and death, his drawings were covered with dust. The assistant waited for the master to speak to him, and the old man kept thinking about who and why could punish him like that. I thought that the living could not do this and assumed that it was dark forces. The master had nightmares, at night he screamed and suffered. The assistant took pity on the old man, and told him about what they were whispering about in the city, that no one would look for the criminal, and that he was somewhere nearby. Master Ganush understood everything, sat sad for several days, sometimes got up in a fit of anger, took a saw or a cooking tool, then put it back.

And one day, encouraged by the master, he asked his assistant to take him to the chimes. The apprentice was delighted, he thought that the desire to live and work was returning to the master. They walked along the square, people stopped respectfully and greeted Master Ganush. Several councilors came out of the town hall at that moment, but they quickly turned away, pretending not to notice the old man.

The watchmaker asked his assistant to take him to the fourth, most difficult part of the chimes. It was very difficult for him to climb the narrow stairs, he could hardly stand on his feet and tried to catch his breath. When he rested, froze in silence, attentively listening to the quiet voice of the mechanism, it even seemed to the assistant that the master barely perceptibly smiled and turned pink. Then he suddenly frowned, and later the assistant recalled that just at that moment the bell sounded in the chimes when death pulled for him.