Šumperk Astronomical Clock in Šumperk, Czechia

When Miroslav Nečas retired, he decided to turn the vent turret over his workshop into a chime. What started as a simple endeavor quickly turned into a far more ambitious project, one that would take him nine years to complete. The result is a copy of the famous Prague Astronomical Clock. In order to pin down all of the details, Nečas consulted Petr Skála, the Prague Astronomical Clock administrator.

Constructing an astronomical clock requires a mastery of crafts ranging from metalwork to painting. Luckily, Nečas is a man of many talents. Over the course of his career, he worked as an electrician, a machinist, a teacher, and a builder. He obtained the necessary gear from the only watchmaking school in the Czech Republic, in Jihlava. 

Like the Prague astronomical clock, the one in Šumperk has a skeleton ringing the bell. The astrolabe and drum machine are copies of the original at a scale of one-to-three. Nečas did make a few stylistic adjustments, such as swapping an owl in for a rooster. There’s also an eagle in the shield, the emblems of the town of Šumperk on the sides, and plum branches as a symbol of slivovitz. Representations of historical crafts take turns in the window between the plaques of Saints Cyril and Methodius.