The website (
visit link) informs us:
"Czech Republic Stamp 2010 Astronomical Clock 21 CZK
Visitors to Prague will surely have visited the Old Town Square to see the astronomical clock. This is a stamp issued in 2010 to mark its sixth centenary.
Here is the description from the Czech Post site:-
Theme
The Prague Astronomical Clock, one of the world's best known and oldest astronomical clocks working for centuries in the centre of Prague, adorns the southern wall of Prague's Old Town Hall. The precise year of its origin is 1410.
The clock consists of the astronomical part, calendar plate, and animated figures. Its clockwork and face are the oldest components. The wooden statues and figures of apostles were likely installed in the 17th century. The mechanism was damaged and subsequently repaired many times. Due to its critical condition after 1735 the Prague town councillors even considered its sale.
In the late 18th century it was saved thanks to astronomer Antonín Strnad who supervised a complete repair of the clockwork made in 1787-1791 by clockmaker Šimon Landesperger.
During the next major repair in 1865-1866 the clock obtained further of its typical components, i.e. the animated statue of a cock and the new calendar face decorated by Josef Mánes.
The clock suffered heavy damage during the fire of the Old Town Hall, bombarded in the final days of the Second World War, and, after huge efforts to repair it, was restarted again in 1948.
The clockwork consists of four parts: main, ringing, beating and calendar mechanisms. The main mechanism is the oldest part of the clock, moving the hands on the dial and unlocking the other three mechanisms. The ringing mechanism rings and the beating mechanism beats every full hour. The calendar mechanism moves the calendar by 1 day every midnight
The original mechanism driving the main mechanism was a horizontal balance beam, or lihýr, maintaining a regular operation of the clock. In 1866 this rather inaccurate mechanism was replaced by a chronometer, constructed by Božek, with a compensation mercury pendulum.
The astronomical dial is a form of mechanical astrolabe mounted on a dial with colourful background framed in black. The lower calendar plate is decorated with paintings, made by Josef Mánes, representing an allegory of each month and the signs.
Method of printing
offset in blue, yellow and black"