CLOCKS OF EUROPE – SLOVENIA

The Team

Clock tower – Ljubljana Castle On the top of the hill in the city of Ljubljana is the Ljubljana

Castle. First mentioned in 1144 as Laybach and in 1146 as Luwigana, the castle was rebuilt after a catastrophic earthquake in 1511, taking on its current form. There are remains from Roman times, and Gothic and Renaissance architecture can be seen within the Castle walls.

From the top of the Clock Tower built in 1848, there is a beautiful view of the city and the Kamniške Alps. As a point of interest, in the 16th Century, there was a smaller tower – The tower of 'piskačev', on which there was also a clock. The tower was named after the town musicians, who, dressed in green cloth, would play their instruments each day at 11 o'clock.

Ljubljana Castle Clock Tower

Ljubljana Castle

Church clock – Šmarna Gora , Ljubljana

Located on the top of a hill, is the Church of St. Mary, dating back to the 13th Century. Inside the church we find the famous Langus frescoes, where many famous Slovenes are painted. Of particular interest is the Church Clock, which chimes every day at 11:30 am in memory of the defeat of the Turks and the Turkish occupation.

Church clock Šmarna Gora

Ljubljana City Hall Today's City Hall was built in 1717, and stands on the

original site of the City's magistrat from the year 1484. The architecture of the building is not the typical Baroch architecture found in the surrounding buildings. The entrance to the building is accentuated by stairs, arcades a balcony and a clock tower. There is a fountain within the courtyard of the building, and in front of the building, both the work of Italian sculpture Francesca Robbe.

The clock on the clock tower was made in 1718, and also showed the phases of the Moon. When it was installed the mechanism which was to show the phases of the Moon was incorrectly connected to the clock's minute hand movement, so that the ball which indicates the Moon's phases completes a cycle every 11 hours rather than every 28 days.

Ljubljana City Hall

Sun dial – Šentjernej Cartuzian Order Pleterje

The wrought iron sun clock can be seen at the open air museum at the cloisters at Pleterje. The sun dial was made by Father Jure and Father Janez, members of the Cartuzian Order at Pleterje.

Man has always measured time in some way, and one of the first ways was with the help of the sun. The sun dial or clock was important in the Middle Ages, and it was during this period that today's mechanised clock was invented.

Sun dial - Pleterje

Sun dial - Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, Ljubljana

In the 12th century, the first church was built on this site by the Ljubljana boatsmen and fishermen. The church was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The original church was rebuilt in stages during the period from 1701 to 1704.

On the south wall of the Cathedral is a sun dial or clock, dating back to 1826. It is the only clock of its kind that can still be seen in Ljubljana.

Under the banner of Roman numerals is a quote in Latin, which reads:

NESCITIS DIEM NEQUE HORAM - which means : YOU DON'T KNOW THE DAY OR THE HOUR

Sun dial

Cathedral of St. Nicholas

…and that’s our project on famous clocks in Slovenia! We hope you learned something new. But remember, don’t let the pressure of time

get to you!Bye! The kids who made it happen. + mentors: Diana Renko Barbara Zorec

Note: Some online sources were used by our students only for didactic purposes. For more information, you can contact Magdalena Bobek.