The Prague astronomical clock on the building of the Old Town Hall is a unique monument dating back to the 15th century. It also constitutes a cunning instrument not only for telling the time, but also for perceiving it. If you have enough time yourselves while in Prague, it is very worth your while taking a closer look at the astronomical clock, which will show you that time is a very relative thing.

Once the philosophers, astrologists and artists had started their never-ending endeavour to tame time, it was time for the clockmakers to start making instruments to measure it. In the case of the Prague horologe it was Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel, who constructed it in 1410.

Allegedly it was perfected by master clockmaker Hanuš of Růže at the end of the century. Legend has it that the aldermen of Prague had this gentleman blinded so he could not make a similar clock for another town.

It was unique even at that time and today it is the only horologe that shows Babylonian time, which is ideal for those that find the traditional sixty-minute hour stressful.

Of course, the Babylonians had the 24-hour day, but they always counted 12 hours from dawn till sunset, so that during the summer an hour could last up to 81 minutes as we know them today. You can adjust your watch to Old Bohemian, astrological or Central European time, whatever suits you best.

Enough to befuddle anyone

Even if you come to terms with the fact that an hour can last eighty as well as only forty minutes, you will still be taken aback by the astronomical dial that shows time according to the stars. Part of this astrolabe determines the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky both in relation to the horizon and the signs of the zodiac. The individual positions are relatively correct, but the more perceptive among you will notice that something is not quite right. You see, the whole model is based on the Ptolemaic geocentric conception of the universe, so that the planets and signs of the zodiac rotate round the Earth.

A potty promenade

Clockmakers were joined by other craftsmen in making such horologes. The Prague one acquired a new form of symbolism. For instance the skeleton was added to remind us that time runs out for everyone. They also wanted to point out a few negative human attributes such as avarice,  lust and vanity. These are represented by fixed allegorical figures on the horologe.

The horologe consists of three parts – the windows with the promenading Apostles, the round astrolabe and the round calendar dial. Photo: ©  tupungato, iStockphoto.com	Craftsmen decorated the horologue with allegorical figures of human vices. Avarice is represented by the gentleman with a bag of money. Vanity spends all his time looking in a mirror and the Turk is there to represent lust. Photo: ©  tupungato, iStockphoto.com	Archangel Gabriel wielding his fiery brand. He stands by the calendar dial. He is joined by a statue of a philosopher holding a quill pen, an astronomer holding a telescope and a chronicler with a book. Photo: ©  ph2212, iStockphoto.com

While the figures representing death and human sins can be seen all the time, the figures of the Twelve Apostles promenade in the two windows “only” thirteen times a day. This holy show happens on the hour every hour between nine in the morning and nine in the evening. It begins when the skeleton starts ringing the bell and ends with a cock crowing and the clock striking the hour. Quite recently, however, the horologe decided to misbehave and completely ignore time. This was due to a mechanical failure and led to the Apostles conducting a quite potty promenade for several hours until the clock-keeper arrived to stop them.

While the Prague horologe is certainly a magnificent work of art, it is not very precise. This is because it still has its medieval clockwork mechanism that has no pendulum. However, when you think that it has been running day and night for six centuries, it is rather amazing that it only needs to be adjusted twice a week.