The astronomical clock is gradually returning to the Old Town Hall in Prague

Prague - The renovation work on the Prague Old Town Astronomical Clock is slowly nearing completion. The tourist-attractive monument is being gradually returned to the tower of the Old Town Hall. Today, the doors at the apostles were installed, the turntables of the apostles will be set on Thursday, and next week the twenty-four-hour mechanism will be placed. After the completion of the astrolabe, the clock's mechanism will return to the tower. Everything should be finished by the end of August. Petr Skála, who has been the custodian of the clock since 2009, told ČTK today. The clock was stopped for repairs on January 8 of this year. Since then, it has been in the hands of restorers. The cost of renovating the monument amounts to 9.4 million crowns.

"We are waiting for the astrolabe to be finished because the work is interlinked. Only when the astrolabe is completely finished can we gradually start moving all the mechanisms that belong to the clock's machinery. However, the room needs to be painted first, which is not yet done. But everything is proceeding one after the other, and we are keeping the deadlines so far," Skála told ČTK.

The clock will return to the Old Town Hall in a new form. Before the dismantling of the clock, there were metal doors from the 1970s at the apostles, which replaced glass stained-glass doors. According to Skála, at that time, due to a malfunction, the doors did not open, and the apostles likely broke the stained glass with their heads. After this year's reconstruction, the apostles will again emerge from doors made of stained glass. In case of a malfunction, the doors will tilt to avoid breaking. The preserved photographs were the model for the stained glass.

In addition to Skála, several restorers are working on the clock, aiming to restore the original significance of the statues representing the three worst human sins: pride, greed, and envy, and the three most beautiful human qualities: compassion, generosity, and humility. The stone decoration needed repair, which was damaged in places by vandals. The astrolabe will have an appearance corresponding to historical documents once the work is completed.

For most of the time the clock was not on the tower, it was replaced by a screen on the Old Town Hall. From March 14 to August 7, visitors to the metropolis could at least see a projection of the clock, showing all the movements of the apostles and the dial, accompanied by the crowing of a rooster and the ringing of a skeleton's bell.

In the first phase of the reconstruction of the Old Town Hall tower, the statics of the stones were secured, safety grids were added to the windows of the walkway, and the golden elements on the tower were polished. The walkway was made accessible in December last year. In March, the tower clock returned to the tower. Now, the clock and the chapel of the Old Town Hall will be repaired. Everything should be completed by this year's celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. The total reconstruction will cost the capital city 55 million crowns excluding VAT.