CLOCK TOWER (ZEITGLOCKENTRUM)

Created in 1191, it is the first western gate of the city and has housed the city's main clock since 1530. The top of the tower offers a beautiful view of the city. The clock is famous for its carousel of figures that come to life every hour. This masterpiece was designed by Casper Brunner. The automatons, dating from 1527-1530, start their ballet early (4 min), with the crowing of the rooster and the jester's bell. Then, on time, come the bears, who make as many turns as there are hours. The central figure, Cronos, then turns over his hourglass and signals the hours with his sceptre, while the lion does the same with a nod of his head; meanwhile, at the very top, Hans Von Tal rings the hours on the bell. Above the dial, the Roman deities Venus, Mars and Jupiter are painted on the wall with their attributes. Then the rooster closes the ballet by crowing a third time (allusion to the words of Jesus to Saint Peter). The movement of the clock, which can be seen on request, is still provided, rarely, by the original mechanism; a golden hand indicates the solar time, the Sun, the current zodiac sign; in the outer red part appears the day of the week; a black and gold ball indicates the phases of the Moon by turning on itself; finally, a star indicates the day of the week, in the Julian calendar (i.e. without taking into account the leap years) A must-see at any time to admire the automatons.