Old town hall, Prague, Czech Republic

The Old Town Hall in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, is one of the city`s most noteworthy monuments. It is located in Old Town Square. The horologe is the most fascinating feature of the Town Hall, it was first built in the first decade of the 15th century. In 1410 its first version was constructed by the skilled clockmaker Nicholas of Kadaň in collaboration with the astronomer Jan Šindel. Later reconstructions changed the first horologe completely, but written records confirm the it already possessed all basic features. The first far-reaching reconstruction was undertaken in 1490 by the clockmaster Hanuš, an old town locksmith, who produced an excellent timepiece based on the pendulum system. The architectural decoration date is from this time, too. This consisted of a system of slender late-Gothic columns that framed it and rich plastic decorations of both figural and floral motifs. There are a lot of stories about the horologe but the only true element is probably the part about the clockwork not functioning properly. . The learned Jan Táborský of Klokotská Hora repaired and perfected the Old Town horologe in the years 1552–1572. The most recent repairs were made out after the Second World War when the badly damaged original figures were replaced by Vojtěch Sucharda`s charming statues. The horologe consists of three independent units: the moving figures, the astronomical dial and the calendar dial.

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