Olomouc Astronomical Clock, Astronomical clock on the northern wall of Town Hall in Olomouc, Czech Republic
The Olomouc Astronomical Clock fills an arched alcove about 14 metres high on the town hall's northern wall. Its central dial shows the planets against the zodiac, with a calendar below, and the whole face is set against a glass mosaic of the Ride of the Kings, a procession of maidens, a worker and a chemist.
The clock was damaged by artillery fire during World War II in 1945 and required complete reconstruction. It was rebuilt in 1955, reflecting the socialist realism style of that period.
The mosaic around the dials depicts the Ride of the Kings and a procession of maidens, folklore motifs from the Haná region. Since 1898 the carillon has rung on sixteen bells cast by Peter Ignatz Hilzer; instead of the proposed Internationale, three Haná folk songs were chosen in the 1950s, among them "Daleká, šeroká cesta přes Holomóc".
The best time to watch is at noon, when a brass rooster crows and mechanical figures of workers parade through the windows. The show lasts only a few minutes, but it is worth being in the square beforehand.
This clock displays planetary movements according to the heliocentric Copernican model, which makes it one of the rare clocks of this kind. Showing the sun at the center was a boldly modern statement at the time of its 1955 reconstruction.
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