The Jetpacker

Prague’s Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock is what draws so many tourists to the Old Town Square.  It’s an awe-inspiring work of prodigious craftsmanship, it’s wrapped in mystery and bloody legends, and it puts on a show once a day.

The beautifully designed Astronomical Clock counts three forms of time: the 24-hour day as we know it, the 24-hour Bohemian day that began at sundown (measured in Arabic numerals), and Babylonian time, which only recorded the 12 hours of visible daylight.

The clock is surrounded by interesting features: statues of Death and The Turk (a symbol of lust) on the right, statues of vanity and greed on the left.  Greed used to be depicted as a Jew with horns clutching a money bag, but the offensive features were removed after World War II.

Just below the clock is a painted calendar. Surrounding the Old Town coat of arms are the twelve zodiac signs that represent each month, and the outer ring marks all 365 days of the year.  When the clock chimes at noon, the two windows above the clock spring open and mechanical figures of the 12 Apostles parade around.

The oldest part of the clock, the mechanical clock and astronomical dial, traces its origins to 1410 when it was made by Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel. The calendar and Gothic sculptures were added later. For a while it was believed that the Astronomical Clock was constructed in 1490 by clockmaster Jan Růže (also known as Hanuš).

As the legend goes, the Town Hall counselors were so pleased with Hanuš’ work, they didn’t want him to reproduce his fine work anywhere else, so they blinded him.  To get revenge, Hanus climbed into the tower one night and committed suicide by throwing himself into the clock mechanism, knocking the clock off kilter for over a century.

Once you’re done with the Astronomical Clock, you can pay a small fee to walk up the steep and narrow path to the top of Old Town Hall Tower for a spectacular view of Old Town.