Building of the General Staff - clock, Historic electric clock at General Staff Building Arch, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The General Staff Building clock is a double-sided tower timepiece with 2-meter diameter faces displaying Roman numerals. The inscription reads 'Main Chamber of Weights and Measures - Exact Time' and it was one of the first electrically powered public timekeeping devices in the city.
The clock was installed in 1905 under scientist Dmitri Mendeleev's supervision as the first public timepiece linked by electrical cables to reference chronometers. This connection enabled precise and synchronized timekeeping across much of the city.
The timepiece represents early 20th-century technological progress in Saint Petersburg, combining precision timekeeping with public service on the General Staff Building arch.
The clock is visible from outside and easily accessible as it sits on the facade of the General Staff Building. You can view both faces from street level and clearly read the Roman numerals and historical inscription.
The timepiece received electrical signals from Munich-made reference chronometers through cables running from the Chamber of Weights and Measures to the Winter Palace. This sophisticated infrastructure was a remarkable technical achievement for the era and made Petersburg a pioneer in synchronized timekeeping.
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