Zytglogge

The Clock Tower ( berndt. pronunciation [ tsi (t ) ˌ klɔkə ]; well as Clock Tower ) is a native of the Middle Ages clock tower with known astronomical clock and chimes in the city of Bern, Switzerland.

History

The repeatedly spiked tower was built as a western completion of the main street of the city of Bern was founded in 1191 1218-1220. With each expansion of the city, which could take place in the bend of the Aare just to the west because of the location of the old town, the tower moved more to the center, lost its function as a defense tower and was subsequently used differently. Before a major fire in 1405, he served as a prison. Thereafter he was appointed as the Clock Tower - rebuilt from the Bernese sandstone - Zytgloggeturm or shortly Clock Tower. Its clock tower with percussion gave the binding for the whole city time. From the tower, the leagues were measured.

In the 16th century, the rectangular tower was given his towering figure and a new clock. In the arch of the gate, the decrees and regulations are struck and mounted the length for public inspection since the 18th century. By the late Baroque alterations of 1770/71 he was fully integrated into its surroundings.

Tower clocks, impact testers and Figure Games

The Clock Tower houses one of the oldest tower clocks in Switzerland. Your movement is composed of five combined, housed in a common housing works: The clock movement, two stroke works and two works for figure games. From the hour axis of the going train of the pointers are driven by the two large upper 12-hour dials and the Astrolabiumsuhr.

One of the two striking works, resets the hour bat in the spire in motion. The other causes the quarter hour strikes, which also take place in the spire.

The figure games in play at the eastern bay large 12 -hour display to the right of the Astrolabiumsuhr.

The Astrolabiumsuhr comes in its basic features from the years 1405/ 06 release. Sky and horizon are shown in stereographic projection from the north pole of the sky. It is still the geocentric worldview, according to which the stars orbit the Earth. The rotating parts form from the diurnal revolution of the stars, the sun and the moon.

A sun symbol is slidably mounted on a big hand, the outer end displays the time of day with one hand on the outer 2 times 12- hour scale. The symbol shows on the horizon in the daily course of the sun between up-and doom. It also slides on the eccentric ring that represents the scaled with the zodiac sign Ekliptikkreis. This ring rotates daily a little faster ( a round in a sidereal day, equal to about 23 hours and 56 minutes) than the sun / hour hands to the clocks center. Due to this small difference the sun symbol slides around once a year around the zodiac. With the current place of the sun in the zodiac, the year is shown gross. Together with the eccentric zodiac ring rotates one this comprehensive centric ring, on the scale of the sun / hour hands month and day of the month shows exactly. As the sun symbol is moved radially on the sun / hour hand, it moves in the summer on a high, in winter on a deep bow days. The eccentric Zodiac pushes it to the point with the greatest distance from the axis Watches (zodiac sign Gemini and Cancer ) to open. In winter ( zodiac sign of Sagittarius and Capricorn) it is quite inside. The two-dimensional moving sun symbol shows on the underlying part of the dial in addition to the current year over the unequal length Temporal hours.

On another centric pointer is a moon ball. This pointer remains daily back about 48 minutes behind the sundial, which he meets the sun after about 29 ½ days. The moon ball revolves around her pointer stick, so that it shows the viewer at the meeting with the sun ( new moon) their dark half. If both symbols are in opposition to each other ( full moon), is the golden half moon ball in view. The moon ball is also shifted by means of the Ekliptikkreises on their hands, so that the high lunar orbit in the winter and the deep lunar orbit is simulated in the summer.

The name of the weekday is displayed in a window at the top of astrolabischen ads. The reduction gear from the central axis of hours is behind still inside the tower. The two gear for the drive of the zodiac and the lunar pointer located outside of the sun / hour hand, which is driven by the central hour axis. Each is based on a pinion which is ever prevented by an eccentrically attached to it weight it to rotate upon rotation with the sun-dial. The pinions run around as planet gears. Since they do not rotate so that they make each a Revolutionary Movement.

About four minutes before the hour a rooster crows and a seated in a niche fool rings two bells hanging over him, and then a procession of armed bears out of the tower moved out and disappears in it. Then the cock crows for the second time and raises the wings. The bearded Chronos, god of time, turns an hourglass, raises his scepter to the command of the hour strike and counts the beats that of Hans strikes called Thann gilded knight in the tower helmet with a hammer in time to the big bell, while his a standing lion main turns when he listen. When the hour bell is silent, the cock crows for the third time and announces the debut of the new hour.

Today's movement and the bells date from 1530 and were created by Kaspar Brunner, a Swiss blacksmith with probably of German origin. The original regulator with Balkenwaag ( Foliot ) was only about 150 years later replaced by a pendulum escapement.

Trivia

A special feature is the public urinal ( Vespasienne ), which is located on the north side of the tower.

In 1960, Swiss Post, the series postal history and monuments out; the motif of the 60 -centime stamp is the Clock Tower. The stamp was reissued in 1967 on violet gefasertem paper with the same motif.