Prague’s astronomical clock will be functioning on Monday for the last time before its planned repair. The clock will be disassembled at around nine.
“After the clock stops, we’ll need to mark each piece, write everything down and start the disassembly process. The clock is a very delicate machine, so it will take multiple days for us to disassemble it,” said Vít Hofman, the spokesman of the municipality.
The restoration of the clock, together with wooden apostle figures, will cost 7,4 million CZK excluding VAT, and new pieces and paint jobs will cost a further 2 million CZK.
Fragments of the clock currently displayed at the city museum will be added to the clock.
The mechanism of the machine will be adapted to the form it had in 1860. Technical niches in place since the end of WW2 will be removed.
The clock will be repaired by the Hainz company from Holešovice. This company was taking care of the clock since the 60s.
For the months during which the clock will be repaired, the municipality is considering a substitute solution so that visitors won’t be completely cut off from experience. A possible variant is a flat screen that would show a projection of the clock. This screen could be put in place within a month.
During the last few months, the tower of the Old Town Hall was reconstructed. The reconstruction will cost the city 48 million CZK.
