Prague Astronomical Clock

The Prague Astronomical Clock, installed in 1410 on the south wall of the Old Town Hall, is among the oldest continuously operating astronomical clocks in the world. Beyond telling the time, its Gothic face tracks the positions of the sun and moon, the zodiac, and the medieval Bohemian calendar — a remarkable feat of early 15th-century science and engineering. A persistent legend holds that the clockmaker Hanuš was blinded after completing the work to prevent him from building a rival instrument elsewhere; historians have since debunked the story, but it endures as part of the clock's folklore. Every full hour, two small windows open and twelve apostle figures parade past before a gilded rooster crows and the bell strikes. The clock face is viewable daily from 9 am to 10 pm, with the tower interior opening at 11 am on Mondays.