Astronomical Clock

The Astronomical Clock of Strasbourg is located inside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Alsace, France. It is the third generation of clockwork on this site and dates from the period of the first French rule over the city. Its origins go back to the 14th century, when the first clock was built between 1352 and 1354. This early construction housed a gilded mechanical rooster, considered one of the oldest known automata in the world. After the rebuilding in the 16th century, which was led by the mathematician Christian Herlin and later Conrad Dasypodius, among others, an even more complex work was created, richly decorated with paintings, movable statues, and a carillon.

The present-day third clock was designed and built by Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué between 1838 and 1843. It is notable for its advanced mechanisms, which reflected the state of the art of their time. Its main functions include a perpetual calendar with a mechanical calculation of the Gregorian calendar, a planetarium, and a display of the actual positions of the sun and moon. Solar and lunar eclipses are also shown. The golden hands show mean solar time, while the silver hands show public time, which results in a difference of about thirty minutes in winter.

The central experience for visitors is the daily procession at solar noon. Figures of Christ and the Apostles, each 18 inches tall, move around the clock while a life-size rooster crows three times. This performance is the high point of the astronomical and mechanical masterpiece. Parts of the earlier clocks, such as the historic rooster from the first clock or many of the paintings from the second generation, can now be seen at the Museum of Decorative Arts in the Palais Rohan in Strasbourg, which adds historical context to the current installation.