Thursday 8 October 2015

Prague astronomical clock, the oldest of its kind, is 605 years old

Prague's astronomical clock, the oldest working clock of its kind in the world, has turned 605 years old, and Google has marked the occasion with a Google Doodle.
The ornate clock, known as the Orloj, is one of Prague's most recognised touristic spectacles, and is located in the Old Town Square in the centre of the city. Its hourly shows draw curious visitors from all over the world, where 12 apostles emerge from two windows to nod at the crowds below.
Other allegorical figures include Death, as a skeleton holding an hourglass, a miser with a purse of coins, a Turk shaking his head and Vanity peering into a mirror. The 12 zodiac medallions below the clockface itself were added by Josef Manes in 1865.
"Despite over a half a millennium of wear and a brush with disaster in WWII, much of its original machinery remains intact, making it the oldest functioning clock of its kind in the world," Google said.
"Today’s Doodle honors a magnificent achievement in medieval engineering and a cultural landmark whose symbolism, design, and intermittent repairs are a remarkable catalogue of Europe’s past."
The clock consists of two dials; the astronomical and the calendar dial. The former represents how the medieval world perceived the universe, with the latter's outer circle describing each day of the year.

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