The Prague Astronomical Clock, or Orloj, has been ticking away on the southern wall of the Old Town Hall since 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest still in operation. It's not just a clock — it's a mechanical cosmology. The medieval face tracks solar and lunar time simultaneously, displays the position of celestial bodies, and reflects the medieval understanding of Earth as the center of the universe. Beneath it, a calendar dial painted with zodiac medallions tells the date and marks the feast days of Catholic saints. Few mechanisms in Europe carry this much intellectual and artistic ambition in a single object.
Monument