Sat 03.Jul.2010
Olomouc, Moravia, Czech Republic
Astronomy Clocks
One of Prague's famous sights is a medieval mechanism called the
Astronomy clock. Various hands show the time of day, a pair of
eccentric circles show what part of the night sky is visible at this
time of year, saint figures perform on a glockenspiel.
I suspect that the (movie) Hogwarts Great Clock is based on it; there
is a definite family resemblance. I was going to include a picture
here, but I'll leave it as an incentive to get some pictures up from
Prague.
Lesser known, but at least as intriguing, is a similar device in Olomouc.
The mechanisms and displays are complex and intricate, as we shall see.
The decorations were changed in communist times, so that instead of
Christian saints, heroic peasants, workers, musicians, scientists, etc
dance and display for us. A blacksmith even beats the chimes of the
hours, or at least srtrikes his anvil in time to the tolling of the big
bell. You couldn't make this stuff up.
The time 7:13pm.
Over on the left you see the minute and hour hands. Thirteen minutes on
the top dial, seven hours (in roman numbers) on the bottom.
To our right, the top dial is the 24-hour readout. 19-and-a-bit hours.
Below, the blue disc shows all of the sky that can be seen from this
latitude. Yes, with drawings of the constellations. The brass
circle shows which part is visible at this time of year.
The date: Thursday, 1 July.
At left, a seven-sectioned circle with the Czech names of the days of
the week. The hand points to Thursday. The bottom dial has roman
numbers for the months. We are just into July. The right dial points to
number 1 out of 31.
To the right a "Weasly Clock" shows each planet's position in the
zodiac. I don't doubt it is correct, either astrologically or
astronomically. Betcha it is astronomically. (Wonder whether I can look
that up somewhere.)
As I said, no more of those Christian mythological figures. This clock has solid modern Commie mythological figures.
A golden cock oversees the proceedings. I'm not touching a straight line like that.
Somehow this communist bureaucrats' impression of a science worker tickles my funnybone.
Above, we saw the dancing skilled workers. Over here we have the musicians, sports people, etc.
Some Rather Odd Signs
Near as I could tell, Pusy is a shop with stuff for girls, not a porn shop. Maybe it means something in Czech?
OK, not that all odd, but I thought Haiphong Bistro sounded just a tad far from home out here in the middle of Moravia.
Can you read this? The white sign says Happy Store in somewhat offbeat lettering.
That is it for now, and probably for all, from Olomouc.
See you all in Bratislava, or maybe in a flashback to Praha.
Contents Copyright 2012 Jeff Bulf