Astronomical Clock Tower - Bern, Switzerland
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 46° 56.879 E 007° 26.875
32T E 381888 N 5200552
The Clock Tower (Zytglogge) was Bern's main clock. It maintained the official time for the city.
Waymark Code: WMCFXJ
Location: Bern, Switzerland
Date Posted: 09/03/2011
Views: 32
The medieval tower, that is one of the city's gates, contains one of Bern's most visited sites, the ornate astronomical clock and calendar.
The medieval tower (Zytglogge - Time Bell) was built in the early 13th century. It has served as a guard tower, prison, and clock for the capital city of Bern. The tower was built 1219 as the western gate to protect the city. The astronomical clock was installed above the gate in the around 1405. It was a simple clock with a music mechanism. In the late 15th century, the Zytglogge was rebuilt and decorated in the new Romantic style. The tower was fitted with a lantern, four decorative corner towerlets, heraldic decorations and the astronomical clock was expanded to include the complex mechanism you see today. In 1527–30, the clockworks were rebuilt by Kaspar Brunner and the gateway was reinforced to support the required heavy machinery. The tower was redesigned many times in the intervening years. Finally, in 1981–83, the Zytglogge was renovated and generally restored to its 1770 appearance.
On the hour a bell is struck by a large clockwork-operated hammer, wielded by a gilded figure of Chronos, the Greek personification of time. Below the hour bell hangs the smaller quarter-hour bell, also rung by a clockwork hammer. The Clock Tower a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
The stamp was issued by New Zealand to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Universal Postal Union whose headquarters are in Bern.
Stamp Issuing Country: New Zealand
Date of Issue: April 3, 1974
Denomination: 5 cents
Color: multicolor
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
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