Prague Chimes (Orloj) - a medieval tower clock installed in Prague on Old Town Square. They are located on the south wall of the tower of the Old Town Hall. By age, these astronomical clocks occupy the third place in the world. By the way, they are the oldest, but still valid.
Ah, how good Prague chimes are! The eagle consists of three basic elements placed vertically on the tower. The central part of the master was equipped with an astronomical dial, which shows the Babylonian, Old Bohemian, modern (Central Europe) and starry times, the moment of setting and rising of the Sun, the moon phase, the position of the heavenly bodies among the constellations in the zodiac circle.
On both sides of the astronomical clock are figures moving every hour. Among them, the Statuette of Death, made in the form of a human skeleton, stands out most of all. Upstairs, on the right and left side of the stone central sculpture of the angel, there are two windows in which, hourly, when the chiming clock is heard, the sculptures of the 12 apostles alternately appear. Above the stone statue of the cherub there is a golden rooster that screams as the apostles complete their procession.
Under the astronomical dial there is a calendar, with which you can determine the month of the year, weekends, day of the week, as well as the unchanging holidays of Christians. To the right and to the left of it are also sculpted sculptures.
Privilege
Prague chimes are located on the tower of the Old Town building. In 1338, the sovereign Jan Luxemburg granted the population of the Old Town the privilege of having a personal town hall. After that, for urban needs, a private house was purchased from the merchant Wolfin from Kamene. First, the building was rebuilt in accordance with the needs of the City Council, and then in 1364 it was equipped with a tower. A clock was installed on it, which was first mentioned in 1402. However, due to negligent service, they soon had to be replaced, as a result of which Orla was created.
So, we continue to study the Prague chimes further. The astronomical dial and mechanical watch are the oldest parts of Orloi, made in 1410. These elements were created by the watchmaker Mikulas from Kadani, designed by astronomer and mathematician Jan Schindel. The astronomical dial has a sculptural design, which was made by the workshop of the famous Czech sculptor and architect Peter Parleř. Orloi was first mentioned in a document dated October 9, 1410. In it, Mikulas from Kadani is characterized as a famous and recognized watchmaker who created chimes with astrolabe for the ancient place of Prague.
It is interesting that in this paper the City Council and the elder are accused of the craftsman Albert (the former keeper) for the careless care of the previous hours and praise Mikolash for his outstanding work. The document also indicated that as a reward for the work, the professional received a house at the city Havel gates, 3,000 Prague pennies once and an annual allowance of 600 pennies.
Historical mistake
Another documentary information about Orloi appeared in 1490. It was then that the watchmaker Jan Rouge from Prague, known as the master Ganush, repaired the device, added the first moving statue of Death and the lower dial with a calendar. These impressive improvements and 80 years of oblivion of the first creators influenced the fact that it was Master Ganush who was considered the creator of Orloi for the next 450 years. The historical error was even reflected in the legend according to which a member of the Prague Council ordered the specialist Ganush to be blinded so that he could not repeat his work anywhere else. This information is especially widespread among intellectuals thanks to the writer Jirasek Alois, who added it to his “Czech Old Tales” (1894).
Jan Rouge probably had a son who helped him for many years. It was he who followed the Eagle until 1530. This watchmaker is compared to Jakub Čech, the creator of the first portable Czech watch. Yakub did not have a student, and Orloi was left without decent care.
In 1552, the Prague Chimes appointed Jan Taborsky. He repaired and upgraded the product, and also put together its comprehensive technical instructions. It was in this document that Jan Taborsky for the first time incorrectly calls the creator of the chimes Jan Rouge. The error occurred due to an incorrect interpretation of the records of that time. In 1962, it was corrected by the Czech astronomer and historian Zdenek Gorski, who studies the history of science.
The rescue of Orloi
In the following centuries, Prague Chimes stopped many times due to the lack of professional caretakers and were repaired a couple of times. In 1629 and 1659, the watch was repaired, during which its slugging mechanism was moved down from the tower, and wooden “companions” appeared at the figure of Death. During this repair, a hidden exceptional moon movement system was created, showing its phases.
The Prague Chimes stood motionless for decades. Prague in the 18th century did not pay attention to their critical condition. When in 1787 the craftsmen rebuilt the town hall, Orloi even wanted to turn it into scrap metal. Employees from Prague Clementinum saved the clock from death: the head of the observatory, Professor Strnad Antonin, obtained subsidized repairs and, together with the watchmaker Simon Landsperger, repaired them a little by 1791. In fact, he only managed to start the watch device, and the astrolabe remained damaged.
In the same period, moving figurines of the apostles were added. Overhaul of Orloi was carried out in the years 1865-1866: all parts of its mechanism were fixed, including astrolabe, a figurine of a rooster was added. It is known that then the artist Manes Joseph decorated the lower calendar disc. And to control the accuracy of the movement, experts installed the Bozek Romuald chronometer.
Damage
Many craftsmen created Prague chimes. The Czech Republic is proud of this work of art. It is known that at the end of World War II, the watch suffered significant damage. In Prague in May 1945, an anti-Nazi rebellion erupted. There were fights everywhere in the city, barricades were built. Particularly stubborn clashes were observed in the center, near the building of the Czech Radio, captured by the rebels. The rebels, using a radio transmitter located on the tower of the Old Town Hall, transmitted appeals to the Czech people.
In Prague were parts of the German group of forces "Center". It was they who tried to crush the rebellion and interrupt broadcasting. The German army shot the building of the Old Town Hall from anti-aircraft guns with incendiary shells, as a result of which it was ignited on May 8, 1945. Then Orloi was badly damaged by the fire: the astronomical disk crashed down, and the calendar dial and wooden statues of the apostles burned down.
Recovery
It is known that by July 1, 1948, the chimes were completely reconstructed: the brothers Jindřich and Rudolf Vesetskiy repaired the broken and curved parts of the clockwork and assembled it again, and the wood specialist carved new figurines of the apostles. The last minor repair of Orloi was made in 2005. Today, this 3/4 creation consists of old parts.
Astronomical dial
Why do many people want to see the Prague clock? The astronomical signs depicted on this masterpiece impress everyone. The Orloi dial is an astrolabe equipped with a clock-driven system. Orloi reproduces the Ptolemaic geocentric structure of the world: in the center is the Earth, around which the Moon and the Sun revolve.
The following elements are moving on a motionless colored background of an astronomical disk depicting heaven and earth: the outer and zodiac rings, pointers with symbols of the moon and the sun, and a pair of clock hands with a gold hand and an asterisk at the end. Unlike a simple watch, there is no hour hand.
Calendar dial
What else are Prague chimes famous for? Orloj's calendar clock was first designed by Jan Rouge (master Ganush) in 1490. It is known that the chimes at first consisted only of an astronomical dial. The first calendar disc, unfortunately, has not been preserved. Its current version was created by archivist C. Ya. Erben from Prague during the restoration of 1865-1866, based on the surviving copy of 1659, which was based on ancient engravings. In the years 1865-1866, the calendar disc was painted by the artist Manes Josef. That is why it is often called the dial of Manes.
Sculptural decoration of chimes
We already know what the Prague Chimes are called. Orloi is their middle name. The sculptures decorating it were created for several centuries. That is why they do not have a single creative concept. It is believed that the stone carved ornament adorning the astronomical disk, and the sculpture of an angel in the upper part of Orloi, were made by the workshop of Peter Parlerzh. The rest of the scenery appeared later.
From time to time, the sculptures of the clock were reconstructed, sometimes re-created, which erased their primary meaning. As a result, today it is very difficult to explain the significance of the architectural design of chimes.
Supernatural powers
People with medieval thinking believed that supernatural forces could be detrimental to any structure . Therefore, they decorated it with various security details at home. Since Orloi is located on the facade of a secular building (the temple space did not protect him), the need for amulets increased. So, the top of the Prague masterpiece is guarded by a rooster, basilisk and an angel.
On a sloping roof are mythical creatures - two basilisk, which are able at one glance to turn all living things into stone. Each of them has two wings, a bird's beak, an arrow-shaped tail and a snake body. It is known that the basilisk gained fame thanks to the title of snake king. The gilded rooster is an ancient symbol of vigilance and courage, meeting the Sun and a new day, located under the very roof of the chiming clock. Beliefs say that it is with the first cry of this bird that the unclean power that dominates at night disappears.
The central sculpture of the top of the watch is a statue of an angel with wings. God's messenger holds a fluttering ribbon with a message that is impossible to read today. The angel is considered the oldest statue of rarity and is a stubborn fighter with dark forces. It rests on a cornice, under which a completely unidentifiable stone strip is placed. Some say that this is a stylization of a snake, others - a scroll with an unknown text. On both sides of the figure of the angel are two windows in which figurines of the 12 apostles appear hourly.
We hope you enjoyed our article on the Prague Chimes, and you had the desire to see this masterpiece with your own eyes.