With nothing but time on his hands (my bad!), the oldest working clock of its kind in the world took center stage to do what he does best time and time again; mark the passage of time with uncharacteristic flair.
Indeed, Orloj was quite the charmer; downright heavenly!
Standing in the midst of all the 12th and 13th century buildings lining the Square, time travel seemed a real possibility, at least as long as I looked beyond the throngs of 21st century tourists keeping it real.
Holy humanity!
It came time to pay the piper in 1861; a fundraising campaign (4,000 gold pieces were needed to make critical repairs) secured Orloj’s future, and thus his past, at least until WWII, when the Nazis bombed Old Time Square. Repairs to Orloj took three years to complete.
That past was a powerful piece of the present the day we stood in Prague’s Old Time Square waiting for the top of the hour to set into motion Orloj’s nod to time immemorial.
Talk about being in the right place at the right time!
The entire show lasted less than a minute, a concept for which the cultural landmark had no time, literally. The minute, as a measurement of time during the Middle Ages, had yet to make its mark on mankind.
We watched this magnificent timepiece announce the noon hour (as per the dial containing Roman Numerals), Central European Time, which occurred a little more than 19 hours after sunset on the previous day (as per the rounded numbers on the outermost dial).
The sun (clock hand with the golden orb) was in the Zodiac sign Scorpio (we were in Old Time Square on 30 October, 2016) with the moon (clock hand with the black orb) close behind. As per the Zodiac dial, the vernal equinox (the first day of spring) represented by the tiny star, rested on the line between Pisces and Aries (Prague is in the Northern Hemisphere).
Standing there in Prague’s Old Time Square, swept up in the magic of the moment, there was no denying Orloj’s charm. I couldn't take my eyes off the old timer's face.
Yes, indeed, Orloj definitely knows how to show the world, and one Midwestern momma, a good time.