Astronomical clock, St. Nicholas Church, Stralsund
October 17, 2023
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The astronomical clock of St. Nicholas Church, Stralsund is a 14th century monumental astrolabe clock. It was probably damaged in the 16th century, and has not worked since then. It is the only clock of its kind to have been preserved almost entirely in its original condition. The clockwork and the indications have not been restored.[1][2]
The astronomical clock of St. Nicholas Church, Stralsund (2012)
The Stralsund clock is the oldest mechanical clock in the world to have been preserved in its original state, and one of the oldest fittings in St. Nicholas, first mentioned in 1394. It is positioned in the church's choir, directly behind the high altar. The clock features a self-portrait of its maker Nikolaus Lilienfeld, which is considered to be the oldest portrait of a clockmaker in the German-speaking world.
According to an inscription on the clock, it was completed on Saint Nicholas Day (6 December) 1394 by Nikolaus Lilienfeld. It was probably operational only until the Stralsunder Kirchenbrechen of 10 April 1525 during the Reformation.[3]
In 1894, the dial's gothic decorations were restored.
In August 1942, the clock dial was moved to the tower of St. Mary's Church, Grimmen, to protect it from damage during the War. After the War, it was returned to St. Nicholas. The decorations restored in 1894 were lost.
In 1994, the case was restored and the clockwork cleaned and conserved. The clockwork's missing parts were not reintroduced for reasons of conservation, so the clock was deliberately not restored to working order.
The clock's case is square, with sides of approximately 4 metres. The dial is round, and touches the sides of the case frame. In the four corners, the Four Wise Men are depicted:
top left: Ptolemy, the Greek mathematician, geographer, astronomer, astrologer, music theorist and philosopher. His banner reads "Inferiora reguntur a superioribus" (Lower things are ruled by higher things.)
top right: Alfonso X, King of Castile, Léon and Galicia, disputed King of Germany, and sponsor of the Alfonsine tables of astronomical data. His banner: "Motus solis et planetarum in obliquo circulo est" (The motion of the sun and the planets is in an oblique circle.)
bottom left: Ali ibn Ridwan (labelled Hali), the Islamic scholar, physician and astrologer. His banner: "Dies est elevacio solis super orizontem" (The day is the elevation of the sun above the horizon.)
bottom right: Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (labelled Albumazar), the Persian mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. His banner: "Sapiens vir dominabitur astris" (The wise man will rule over the stars.)
On the narrow left side wall of the clock, windows are painted; Nikolaus Lilienfeld, the clockmaker, looks out of one.
Underneath the dialEdit
The clock case sits on top of a central console with a wide barred window. This was possibly intended to accommodate a calendar disc. The panel paintings either side of the window depict, on the left, a man pushing a door open, with the Latin banner "post deum omnium vivencium vita sol et luna" (After God, the sun and the moon are the life of all living things), representing the morning, and on the right, a man pulling a door closed, with the Latin banner "matutinae imensa munera sed saepe male finiunt" (The morning promises rich rewards, but things often finish badly), representing the evening.
DialEdit
The dial of the astronomical clock
In the clock, the sober display of the time and the movements of the heavens are combined. It is both a clock and a clockwork astrolabe.
The Baltic Sea clock familyEdit
Manfred Schukowski classes the Stralsund astronomical clock and several similar clocks in churches around the Baltic Sea as comprising the “Baltic Sea clock family”.[4] All have wooden cases with dimensions of several metres, which are fastened at a height of a few metres between two inner pillars of the church. Often, as in Stralsund, they are positioned behind the high altar, with the dial facing the eastern outer wall of the church. Under the dial there are often wooden pillars, with a rotating calendar disc between them – in Stralsund these are absent, the pillars are merely painted on narrow panels.
BibliographyEdit
Manfred Schukowski: Wunderuhren. [Marvel clocks]. Thomas Helms Verlag, Schwerin 2006. ISBN 3-935749-03-1
^Manfred Schukowski: Die Astronomische Uhr in St. Marien zu Rostock. [The Astronomical Clock of St. Mary's, Rostock]. Langewiesche Nachfolger und Köster Verlagsbuchhandlung, Königstein/Taunus, 1992. p. 12: Übersichtstabelle der "Ostsee-Uhrenfamilie" [Summary table of the Baltic Sea clock family]
^Manfred Schukowski: Wunderuhren, Thomas Helms Verlag, Schwerin 2006, ISBN 3-935749-03-1, p. 111: The clock is „einmalig“ [unique], in that „in ihrer äußeren gotischen Gestalt unverfälscht und nahezu vollständig erhalten blieb“ [it remains unadulterated and retains its exterior gothic form almost in full] and „ihr Uhrwerk [...] ohne jeden Zusatz aus späterer Zeit vorhanden“ [the clockwork is without any addition from a later time].
^There has been some speculation that the clock may have been damaged by a lightning strike on 17 March 1480. Public clocks can suffer lightning damage if they have a dial in a tower or other high position, which can act as a lightning rod. However, there is no suggestion that the Stralsund clock ever had any such additional dial. Given the clock's location, a lightning strike seems most unlikely.
^Manfred Schukowski: Die Astronomische Uhr in St. Marien zu Rostock. [The Astronomical Clock of St. Mary's, Rostock]. Langewiesche Nachfolger und Köster Verlagsbuchhandlung, Königstein/Taunus, 1992. pp. 9–13.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Astronomical clock, St. Nicholas Church, Stralsund.
Literature about Astronomical clock, St. Nicholas Church, Stralsund in the State Bibliography (Landesbibliographie) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
October 17, 2023
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You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German July 2021 Click show for important translation instructions View a machine translated version of the German article Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Consider adding a topic to this template there are already 8 898 articles in the main category and specifying topic will aid in categorization Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at de Astronomische Uhr in St Nikolai Stralsund see its history for attribution You should also add the template Translated de Astronomische Uhr in St Nikolai Stralsund to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation The astronomical clock of St Nicholas Church Stralsund is a 14th century monumental astrolabe clock It was probably damaged in the 16th century and has not worked since then It is the only clock of its kind to have been preserved almost entirely in its original condition The clockwork and the indications have not been restored 1 2 The astronomical clock of St Nicholas Church Stralsund 2012 The Stralsund clock is the oldest mechanical clock in the world to have been preserved in its original state and one of the oldest fittings in St Nicholas first mentioned in 1394 It is positioned in the church s choir directly behind the high altar The clock features a self portrait of its maker Nikolaus Lilienfeld which is considered to be the oldest portrait of a clockmaker in the German speaking world Contents 1 History 2 Description 2 1 Clock case 2 2 Underneath the dial 2 3 Dial 3 The Baltic Sea clock family 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditAccording to an inscription on the clock it was completed on Saint Nicholas Day 6 December 1394 by Nikolaus Lilienfeld It was probably operational only until the Stralsunder Kirchenbrechen of 10 April 1525 during the Reformation 3 In 1894 the dial s gothic decorations were restored In August 1942 the clock dial was moved to the tower of St Mary s Church Grimmen to protect it from damage during the War After the War it was returned to St Nicholas The decorations restored in 1894 were lost In 1994 the case was restored and the clockwork cleaned and conserved The clockwork s missing parts were not reintroduced for reasons of conservation so the clock was deliberately not restored to working order Description Edit nbsp Portrait of Nikolaus Lilienfeld on the clockClock case Edit The clock s case is square with sides of approximately 4 metres The dial is round and touches the sides of the case frame In the four corners the Four Wise Men are depicted top left Ptolemy the Greek mathematician geographer astronomer astrologer music theorist and philosopher His banner reads Inferiora reguntur a superioribus Lower things are ruled by higher things top right Alfonso X King of Castile Leon and Galicia disputed King of Germany and sponsor of the Alfonsine tables of astronomical data His banner Motus solis et planetarum in obliquo circulo est The motion of the sun and the planets is in an oblique circle bottom left Ali ibn Ridwan labelled Hali the Islamic scholar physician and astrologer His banner Dies est elevacio solis super orizontem The day is the elevation of the sun above the horizon bottom right Abu Ma shar al Balkhi labelled Albumazar the Persian mathematician astronomer and astrologer His banner Sapiens vir dominabitur astris The wise man will rule over the stars On the narrow left side wall of the clock windows are painted Nikolaus Lilienfeld the clockmaker looks out of one Underneath the dial Edit The clock case sits on top of a central console with a wide barred window This was possibly intended to accommodate a calendar disc The panel paintings either side of the window depict on the left a man pushing a door open with the Latin banner post deum omnium vivencium vita sol et luna After God the sun and the moon are the life of all living things representing the morning and on the right a man pulling a door closed with the Latin banner matutinae imensa munera sed saepe male finiunt The morning promises rich rewards but things often finish badly representing the evening Dial Edit nbsp The dial of the astronomical clockIn the clock the sober display of the time and the movements of the heavens are combined It is both a clock and a clockwork astrolabe The Baltic Sea clock family EditManfred Schukowski classes the Stralsund astronomical clock and several similar clocks in churches around the Baltic Sea as comprising the Baltic Sea clock family 4 All have wooden cases with dimensions of several metres which are fastened at a height of a few metres between two inner pillars of the church Often as in Stralsund they are positioned behind the high altar with the dial facing the eastern outer wall of the church Under the dial there are often wooden pillars with a rotating calendar disc between them in Stralsund these are absent the pillars are merely painted on narrow panels Bibliography EditManfred Schukowski Wunderuhren Marvel clocks Thomas Helms Verlag Schwerin 2006 ISBN 3 935749 03 1 Manfred Schukowski Uhren aus Kirchen in hansischer Zeit Clocks in churches from Hanseatic times In Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Chronometrie Yearbook 2009 pp 69 83 References Edit Manfred Schukowski Die Astronomische Uhr in St Marien zu Rostock The Astronomical Clock of St Mary s Rostock Langewiesche Nachfolger und Koster Verlagsbuchhandlung Konigstein Taunus 1992 p 12 Ubersichtstabelle der Ostsee Uhrenfamilie Summary table of the Baltic Sea clock family Manfred Schukowski Wunderuhren Thomas Helms Verlag Schwerin 2006 ISBN 3 935749 03 1 p 111 The clock is einmalig unique in that in ihrer ausseren gotischen Gestalt unverfalscht und nahezu vollstandig erhalten blieb it remains unadulterated and retains its exterior gothic form almost in full and ihr Uhrwerk ohne jeden Zusatz aus spaterer Zeit vorhanden the clockwork is without any addition from a later time There has been some speculation that the clock may have been damaged by a lightning strike on 17 March 1480 Public clocks can suffer lightning damage if they have a dial in a tower or other high position which can act as a lightning rod However there is no suggestion that the Stralsund clock ever had any such additional dial Given the clock s location a lightning strike seems most unlikely Manfred Schukowski Die Astronomische Uhr in St Marien zu Rostock The Astronomical Clock of St Mary s Rostock Langewiesche Nachfolger und Koster Verlagsbuchhandlung Konigstein Taunus 1992 pp 9 13 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Astronomical clock St Nicholas Church Stralsund Literature about Astronomical clock St Nicholas Church Stralsund in the State Bibliography Landesbibliographie of Mecklenburg Vorpommern Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Astronomical clock St Nicholas Church Stralsund amp oldid 1087643883, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
