There are better and bigger pictures of Prague’s Astronomical Clock, but this gives you a sense of its scale. It’s the oldest astronomical clock still working, though it’s had a few close shaves. In 1945, incendiary fire from the Nazis destroyed the wooden sculptures and the calendar dial. Heroic citizens saved it from complete destruction.
The figures you see near the bottom are the Chronicler, Angel, Astronomer and Philosopher. They flank a reproduction of the calendar wheel painted by the Czech Revivalist Josef Mánes in 1866. Each monthly circle displays a seasonal scene of rural Bohemia.
Astronomical clocks were a huge fad in Europe – the Nazis were more successful in destroying the one at Olomouc, former capital of Moravia.