Prague,  The Czech Republic

Prague is an architect’s dream! You can’t just take a picture of a door here without getting the scope of the entire building! What beauty! It is quite the tourist destination so many photos will also feature Tourists! I took these photos before I got into the habit of getting up early to take photos before the tourists arrived!

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague is a blend of old and new. This pink building is a motorcycle shop!

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague is a place of many doorways to another doorway! And I love all the cobbled, tiny streets! This was the way to our hotel…….

Prague, The Czech Republic

And this was the door to the hotel!

Prague, The Czech Republic

And there is a door on the famous Prague Astronomical Clock!

The Astronomical Clock, Prague, Czech Republic

The medieval astronomical clock can be found in Old Town Square. Legend says Hanus, the clockmaker, made the clock that was so admired by everyone, but he refused to show anyone how it was made. When he decided to build an even better clock the city officials became jealous and blinded him so he could not finish the clock. He then damaged the astronomical clock in revenge, and no-one was able to repair it.

The Real history of the clock is this. In 1961 an old document was found which described the clock and said it was made by Mikulas of Kadan in 1410.  It was repaired and improved over the centuries, but eventually it was so faulty, it was mostly not working at all, and by 1780 it stopped working altogether. In 1865 major repairs were made to the clock and in 1945 the clock was damaged heavily during the war.  After the war the clock was repaired and the striking of the clock was changed from Old Czech Time to the Central European Time.

The wooden figures of the apostles appear in the windows every hour and some of the other sculptures move. Death holds an hourglass, vanity is a man with a mirror, Miserliness is a man with a moneybag. There is also an astronomer, chronicler, philosopher and angel. When the apostles finish their journey, the golden rooster crows and flaps his wings, the bell rings, and the clock strikes the hour.

The Astronomical Dial shows the medieval perception of the Universe: the Earth is the center. The blue part of the dial represents the sky above the horizon, the brown part the sky below it.

There are three circles on the dial showing different times. The outer circle shows Italian time and the inner circle shows “Babylonian Time,” the length of an hour differs there according to season……longer in summer and shorter in winter. This clock is the only one in the world that measures it. The little star by the zodiac ring shows the fixed stars.

The newest part of the clock is the Calendar Dial. There is the Prague Old Town symbol in the centre. The rotary outer circle describes every single day of the year, and the current date is indicated at the top. There are also medallions with zodiac signs and pictures depicting every month. Wow, this is quite the clock!

This is just one of many photos in the Thursday Door Collection featured by Norm2.0!   Won’t you join in or take a peak at all the doors?