The Astronomical Clock features four figures flanking towards the dial and moving sculptures known as “The Walk of the Apostles”, which is set in motion every hour.
Every hour, hundreds of visitors gather in Old Town Square to watch one of Prague’s most famous landmark’s, the Astronomical Clock also known as Orloj.
The clock dates back to 1410 when it was originally built by Mikuláš of Kadan and Jan Šindel, who later became a professor at Charles University in Prague.
The three main components include the astronomical dial representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky, “The Walk of the Apostles” which is a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures, and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.
The Astronomical Clock stopped working several times in the centuries after 1552, which required constant repairing.
One story mentions how the council purposely gouged out the original clock maker’s eyes in order to prevent him from making a similar clock for another country.
Soon afterwards, he died while touching the clock, at which point the clock stopped working and remained broken for a number of years. In the 17th century moving statues were added, and figures of the Apostles were also added after major repair in 1865-1866.
Today, the Astronomical Clock is one of Prague’s most visited sites along with Old Town Square.
Visitors can climb the Old Town Hall Tower to get a view of the city for a minimal fee.
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