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All Poland Gdańsk Tower Clock Museum
AO Edited

Tower Clock Museum

This museum in the tower of the oldest church in Gdańsk, is home to centuries-old time-keeping devices and the world's first pulsar clock.

Gdańsk, Poland

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Adam Kincaid
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The Tower Clock Museum is the only one of it’s kind.   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
The museum is creatively lighted in psychedelic neon and surrealist style.   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
Handmade and hand painted grandfather clocks on display,   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
A display dedicated to Jan Heweliusz and his work sits in the main room.   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
Clock tower opening times   bbjames69 / Atlas Obscura User
Old carillon bells on display.   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
Giant gears fill out most of the clocks skeletons.   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
The entrance to the museum is to the right of the main entrance to the church.   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
Many of the clocks feature unique and rare mechanisms.   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
Most of the clocks date back hundreds of years.   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
The inner works of an ancient clock on display.   AdamTKincaid / Atlas Obscura User
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About

One of the world's oldest sciences is on full display in the rafters and rooftops above Saint Catherine's Church, the oldest church in Gdańsk, Poland. Horology, the science of measuring time, has a place in this ancient city thanks to one of its leading beer brewers, politicians, academics, and inventors: Jan Hevelius (1611-1687).

While Hevelius was a town councilor of the important maritime city, his primary interest was in astronomy and horology. Of his many academic contributions to the sciences, he is known as the founder of lunar topography, observing sunspots before telescopes, and discovering that comets revolve around the sun in parabolic paths.

He also created his own instruments for measurements, including highly accurate time keeping devices and mechanisms. Many of these were destroyed in a devastating fire on September 26, 1679, but several originals and a few reproductions survive.

Some of these live at Saint Catherine's church, which is now home to the only museum of its kind: The Tower Clock Museum. In addition to Hevelius's instruments, the museum also houses some of the oldest, and unique time keeping devices ever created: those of the tower clock.

For centuries, most clocks were installed and built on the towers and churches of town halls, government buildings, and fortifications. These clocks were massive analog machines that were usually one-of-a-kind creations and difficult to fix if broken.

Factor in the destruction of war, the all-too-common fire in these large buildings, as well as technology upgrades, it is rare for these expensive machines to exist into today.

The Tower Clock Museum houses some of the oldest and rarest artifacts of this time-keeping genre with clocks dating back to the 1300s. These clocks include ingenious examples of time keeping including cross-bar balance components that predate the pendulum, intricate iron caste work, and clocks that run on steam and early electricity.

There is also a collection of turn-of-the-century alarm clocks as well as regional hand painted Kaszubian wall clocks, some several centuries old. All are stored in the bell tower of Saint Catherine's Church which is creatively lighted in psychedelic neon and surrealist style.

Most recently, in 2011, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Hevelius's birth, the world's first and only pulsar clock was installed. This unique clock uses the impulses of pulsars, or neutron stars, as a basis for keeping time. Something that Jan would surely be happy to see in his home town.

Related Tags

Clocks Museums Museums And Collections Horology

Know Before You Go

The museum operates seasonally, from May 1 until September 30. Open 10:00 - 18:00 and located fittingly 66 spiral stairs up into the tower of Saint Catherine's church. Tickets are 10zl and located at the top of the staircase. Carillon concerts happen twice a week at the top of the museum, so time your visit with those and enjoy a nice 360 panoramic view of old town.

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AdamTKincaid

Edited By

Vaquero, bbjames69

  • Vaquero
  • bbjames69

Published

March 30, 2021

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Sources
  • http://polandishere.com/attractions/Muzeum-Zegarow-Wiezowych-Gdansk
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Hevelius
  • https://physicsworld.com/a/pulsar-timekeepers-measure-up-to-atomic-clocks/
Tower Clock Museum
Profesorska 3
Gdańsk, 80-849
Poland
54.354413, 18.651192
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