Day 15: Prague - Staré Mêstro

Pretty worn out, we took a bus back to the east side of the river to Staré Mêstro (Old Town) but got to the Old Town Square (or Staromêstské nàmèstî) too late to see its major churches - [another] St Nicholas and St James. Cash's Prague blog-post from her trip last year gave a great description and I was looking forward to seeing the 600 year old shriveled arm of the would-be thief who tried to steal the jewels from the statue of the Virgin Mary (see here - http://caitlincash.tumblr.com/)

On the hour, we gathered with the hundreds of other tourists to see the town hall tower's astronomical clock do its thing. This clock, built in 1410 and improved in 1490 by master clockmakers, is absolutely amazing. I still don't quite understand it all but it tells the time, sunrise, sunset, an astrological star clock, reads military time and standard time, moon phases, zodiac signs, stellar time, and the month/season.

Crazier than all this is the scene that plays out every hour. The 4 figures represent the issues of 15th century Praguers - Vanity, Greed, Death, and Pagan Invasion. The lower figures are the Chronicler, Angel, Astronomer, and Philosopher. On the hour Death rings a bell and inverts his hourglass and the other figures shake their head while the 12 Apostles parade past the upper windows. At the end the rooster crows and the hour rings.

The story goes that because Master Hanuš had created such a spectacular clock, he was blinded by Prague officials so he couldn't recreate it elsewhere. So in revenge he climbed up and dismantled it so it wouldn't work... Documents show that it didn't work properly until 1570...???