You know a clock is important when it has its own website.
Indeed, Prague's
astronomical clock, commonly known by the Czech name Orloj, is one of
the central attractions of Old Town Square. The clock dates back to
1410 (although it has undergone substantial repairs on many occasions),
and features a procession of carved images of the Apostles, which
appear at the hour and go by in a circle above the clock face. The
picture above gives you an understated idea of the kinds of crowds that
gather before the clock every hour at five-to in order the witness the
clockwork procession.
Apart from depicting the apparent movements of the sun and the moon,
the clock also shows the stand-off between good and evil, all in jolly
medieval style. On the good side are figures representing an angel, a
chronicler, an astronomer and a philosopher. On the other side are the
somewhat general Vanity and Death, along with a Jew, representing
Greed, and a Turk, representing Pagan Invasion. According to a Frommer's
travel guide, the figure of the
Jew featured a pair of horns prior
to 1945.
Despite this depiction, Prague had a long-standing an prosperous Jewish
community before the Second World War. As for the Muslims, they have
only started arriving in the last few decades, and in rather small
numbers, so the nightmare of Pagan Invasion has not come to pass.
