Construction of Prague Astronomical Clock

The Prague Astronomical Clock, or Orloj, is a medieval astronomical clock mounted on the Old Town Hall in Prague. It is generally credited to the clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel, a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Charles University, and it is the oldest astronomical clock still in working order. Its dials show the positions of the Sun and Moon, the signs of the zodiac and several systems of time, including old Bohemian time. Every hour a procession of the Twelve Apostles appears in windows above the dial, along with moving figures such as Death, who rings a bell, and Vanity. The mechanism was repaired in the 16th century, a calendar dial was added later, and the clock was damaged in 1945 during the Prague uprising and restored.

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