OLD TOWN SQUARE Town Hall And Astronomical Clock

2:20

The Old Town Hall is one of the most renowned monuments in Prague. It is a complex of buildings grouped together over the centuries around the high, fourteenth-century tower in solid dark stone, on which you can admire the world-famous Astronomical Clock. The buildings include the Renaissance house with a three-part window, above which is the inscription “Praga caput regni”.

Inside the Old Town Hall there are numerous areas to be visited, such as the fourteenth-century chapel and the rooms with decorations from various periods, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Particularly interesting are the centuries-old cellars, which form a winding underground labyrinth that for a long time was used as a prison. A spectacular elevator, built in 1999, leads up to the gallery under the roof, which offers splendid views.

 

The Old Town Hall is famous above all for the Astronomical Clock, an irresistible attraction for more than 600 years, which occupies a Late Gothic niche on one side of the tower, embellished by a small balcony and a number of sculptures. The original mechanism dates back to 1410, and was an extraordinary technical achievement for the time. Renovated several times between the 15th and 16th centuries, and recently restored, the clock has two overlapping dials. The top one has a number of hands, and marks the hours, the position of the sun, the moon and the zodiac, while the bottom one shows the symbols of the zodiac together with the work carried out in the various months of the year.

The Clock is famous for the procession of little figures that pop out from the two windows at the top, under the canopy, at the stroke of every hour, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.: the show lasts just two minutes. The skeleton next to the main dial turns over the hourglass, and from the two windows emerge the statues of the twelve Apostles. The figures you see today were crafted by a puppet maker in 1945 to replace the original ones, which were destroyed during the Nazi period.

 

An interesting fact: on the outer edge of the Clock, ancient Gothic characters are used to show what was called “old Czech time” or “Italian hours”, which divided the day into 24 hours starting from sunset, as on the clock in St Mark’s in Venice.

TravelMate recommends
Choose the option
that suits you
Buy Prague
Permanently unlock the app with all content of Prague for
€ 8,99
Buy
Promotion
Unlock audio content of all available cities for 3 years at the promotional price
€ 19,99
Buy
Don't miss out!
PRAGUE INTRODUCTION
1 Audio

PRAGUE INTRODUCTION

Most of all, however, as you’ll immediately realize, Prague is one of the world’s capitals of art: of Gothic art in the 14th century, during the reign of Charles IV; of Renaissance art in...
THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE
1 Audio

THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE

The main ingredients in Bohemian cooking are meat, potatoes, and vegetables that grow on the hills around the city, especially mushrooms.In addition to soups made with vegetables or mushrooms, the...
CASTLE
10 Audio

CASTLE

Prague Castle is not just a single building, but a whole fortified district, perched on top of a hill, with just three gateways. Inside, visitors can admire a variety of buildings, towers, churches,...
OLD TOWN SQUARE
3 Audio

OLD TOWN SQUARE

It is located in the heart of the Old Town, in the market district, which until the end of the 18th century, like all the other districts of Prague, was considered a self-sufficient...
CHARLES BRIDGE
2 Audio

CHARLES BRIDGE

The bridge was built on the orders of Charles IV, the king who made fourteenth-century Prague one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and the task was entrusted to the German architect Peter...
MALA STRANA
4 Audio

MALA STRANA

Malà Strana starts out from the end of Charles Bridge and runs along the steep, narrow strip of hills between the Vltava and the Castle. The visitor has the impression that nothing has been...
JEWISH QUARTER
2 Audio

JEWISH QUARTER

The opening of Parizska Street at the beginning of the 20th century radically altered the appearance of the Jewish quarter. The old homes disappeared, but six synagogues, the Jewish Town Hall and the...
DANCING HOUSE
1 Audio

DANCING HOUSE

The “house” is in the New Town, a district with Art Nouveau buildings (or Secese, as the movement is known here), featuring a continuous variety of solutions and decorations, in keeping...
WENCESLAS SQUARE
3 Audio

WENCESLAS SQUARE

At one end, it is dominated by the large National Museum building, and at the Mustek end (meaning little bridge, recalling the bridge that once crossed the medieval moat), by the statue of Saint...
MUNICIPAL HOUSE
1 Audio

MUNICIPAL HOUSE

It is no coincidence that the palace and its decorations are the result of a collective effort from the finest Bohemian artists of the time, including the great Alfons Mucha, who designed the...
LORETO SANCTUARY
2 Audio

LORETO SANCTUARY

The sanctuary dominates Loreto Square with its lively shapes, slender central tower and pale plasterwork. This is one of the most beautiful squares in Prague, and is the heart of the Hradcany...
PETRIN HILL
1 Audio

PETRIN HILL

The park was created by combining the vegetable gardens of the monasteries with the gardens of the local aristocrats, which over the centuries took the place of the thick forest that once stretched...
CONVENT OF SAINT AGNES
1 Audio

CONVENT OF SAINT AGNES

The Convent of Saint Agnes is named after its founder, Agnes of Bohemia, the daughter of Ottokar I, King of Bohemia from 1198 to 1230. The young Agnes was raised in a convent, and although she had...
NATIONAL THEATRE
1 Audio

NATIONAL THEATRE

The National Theatre was built thanks to a group of patriots, who raised the funds among the population of Prague through donations from the noble classes, groups of workers and thousands of...
VYSEHRAD HILL
1 Audio

VYSEHRAD HILL

Legend has it that just before the year 1000, at the foot of the Vysehrad hill, Princess Libuse, founder of the first royal dynasty of Bohemia, pronounced the prophecy: “I can see a city whose...
TravelMate App
DOWNLOAD NOW
THE TRAVELMATE APP
Purchase your activation code, download the TravelMate App, and turn your smartphone into your personal travel companion!
Listen to audio guides about the wonders of the world with TravelMate.
HAVE FUN!