The Astronomical Clock in the Strasbourg Cathedral

Watch the video shot on my trip to visit my graduate assistant and his wife in the Alsace Region of Eastern France. The video is inside of the only cathedral left standing after the French Revolution as we watch the chime of the astronomical clock. Want more information?  Then, click on one of the links below for more information on travel to Strasbourg, France. Click on Like and Share this .. Thanks!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:33 — 13.6MB)

Between 1547 and 1574, there was much ado in this part of the south transept, as the clock prepared by Dasypodium ”The Archimedes of Strasbourg” was built. The Habrecht brothers, assisted by Tobias Stimmer, installed and embellished it from 1572 to 1574.

In its present form, it dates from 1838/1842, after it was rejuvenated by a brilliant autodidact, the local mathematician clockmaker John-Baptist Schwilgue.

The central section, 18 meters high and 11 meter 70 wide, has 7 levels.

The lower dial indicates the months of the year, date, sun time and liturgical calendar. A computation on the left calculates the dates of the main religious feasts.

In the center of the level above, two pairs of hands tell the local sun time and the official time. A cherub on the left of it rings the quarters and another on the right upends a sand glass at every change of hour.

Next, a Copernician planetarium gives the signs of the zodiac and a representation of the solar system.

A copper ball, half clear and half black, shows the aspects of the moon seen from this part of the world.

From six in the morning to six at night a skeleton on the lower projecting balcony surveys the ages of man as they file past: childhood, youth, maturity, senility; when the last has gone, Death strikes the hour.

On the upper balcony, at 12. 30 p.m., official time, the twelve apostles parade past Christ who blesses them as they bow before him, while a rooster perched on the counterweight turret (to the left of the central section) crows three time to recall the renial of St Peter.

The clockwork is surrounded by legends: the clockmaker was blinded because he threatened to build a similar clock in another town; to avenge, he withdrew screws to prevent lions from roaring. Of course, none of both events mentionned ever happened.

Astronomical clock : built from 1572 to 1574, it has been remade by the local craftsman Schwilgue between 1838-1842; his portrait  painted by J.B. Guerin at the bottom of the left hand pillar. The lions symbolize the bishop’s power and the code of arms of the town.

For more info on Strasbourg, France visit one of the following links:

• Info on Strasbourg (Entertainment in Strasbourg, Restaurants in Strasbourg, Historical Sites in Strasbourg, Transportation in Strasbourg, etc)
• Travel Log and photos taken on a trip to Strasbourg, France