THE ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK, PRAGUE (part 1)

The Astronomical clock or Orloj is one of Prague's most
beautiful attractions. Every hour it gathers hundreds of
tourists that look amazed at the change of the hour and
the blessing of the Apostles.

This astronomical clock was constructed in 1410 by the
clockmaker Mikulas of Kadan in collaboration with
Jan Ondrejuv called Sindel.

80 years later, the legendary master Hanus rebuild the
clock and as legend has it, the Councillors had him blinded,
so that he would not ever manage to build another
instrument greater than the Orloj in Prague.

The story also says that before he died, master Hanus
deliberately damaged the clock so seriously, that nobody
could ever fix it again. He also cursed the instrument,
so those who tried to repair it have either gone mad or died.




At the Calendar you will see: (from left to right)

A chronicler, an angel, an astronomer and a philosopher .


There is also a rooster that crows after the Apostles
have finished their blessing.

It may seem the funniest thing is , one can read almost
anything on the Prague Orloj BUT the time.

The Sphere or clock dial shows most important
astronomical events: movement of the sun
(notice that the sun circles around the Earth and
not the other way around), phases of the
moon, the equinoxes, the seasons, the days
and the zodiac.

You can also read more about this in Part 2.