MK will deal with the complaint regarding the appearance of the Prague astronomical clock after the reconstruction

Prague – The heritage inspection of the Ministry of Culture will address the complaint regarding the appearance of part of the Old Town Astronomical Clock after its reconstruction. It has requested documents from the Prague City Hall, which owns the clock, and the National Heritage Institute. The complaint was filed last week by Milan Patka, a member of the Club for Old Prague, as reported by Deník N. "I cannot predict when we will receive the requested documents and what can be inferred from them regarding this matter," said Martin Zídek, the director of the Heritage Inspection, to ČTK today.

Patka is one of the authors of the changes to the astrolabe of the Prague clock. The astrolabe is one of the parts of the clock, located beneath the windows where the figures of the apostles appear. Even lower on the facade is a calendar painted according to a design by Josef Mánes. Patka is now complaining to the ministry about its new appearance. The Heritage Inspection addressed the astrolabe after the clock's repair, as some experts protested against its new appearance. However, in 2019, it stated that it was exclusively an astronomical problem. The inspection only began to deal with the appearance of the calendar after the now submitted complaint.

The astrolabe is a historical astronomical instrument that was previously used to determine and predict the positions of astronomical bodies, determine local time, or for surveying purposes. The Prague clock features an astronomical dial derived from the astrolabe. During the clock's repair in 2018, some critics claimed that part of the astrolabe was incorrectly repainted, and the City Hall had it repainted again in 2019. At that time, however, it stated that the clock had fulfilled all its functions throughout. According to Deník N, the clock's caretaker, Petr Skála, is still in disagreement with Patka regarding the appearance of the astrolabe, who is now criticizing the appearance of the calendar.

The calendar or lunar dial was created by Josef Mánes in 1866 for the newly restored Old Town Astronomical Clock. Since 1882, a copy of the work has been hanging on the clock, while the original was placed in a museum to prevent damage from weather influences, as stated on the website of the Museum of the City of Prague. The copy also suffers from weather influences, and a new version was created in 2018. According to Patka, the copy of the calendar from 2018 significantly deviates from the original.

"The repair of the clock was part of the reconstruction of the entire Old Town Hall tower. The work was carried out according to project documentation that passed through the entire construction process and in accordance with the binding opinions of the National Heritage Institute and the heritage preservation department of the Prague City Hall. During the repairs, we consulted the final appearance of the clock not only with heritage experts but also with other professional institutions and the expert public," said Prague City Hall spokesman Vít Hofman to ČTK today. "In the coming years or decades, we do not plan any modifications or modernization of the clock, except for regular conservation activities primarily for the wooden sculptures. The entire repair of the tower cost approximately 61 million crowns excluding VAT, of which around ten million crowns excluding VAT related to the clock," he added.