Tower clock

A medieval instrument of precision

The tower at Ort Castle is home to a nearly 400 year old clock. As the date on the mighty, ironwork mechanism shows, the clock is set into operation in 1634 and thoroughly renovated in 1778.

Something must have gone wrong though because shortly afterwards the clock is reported to have stopped. It is not until 1998 that a local locksmith undertakes the Herculean task of overhauling the mechanism. Since then the clock has run continuously.

This is no small feat, for the mechanism has to be wound by hand. The heavy stones weighing over 40kg on each of the three long ropes have to be pulled up by a crank every 36 hours. The ropes hang in a seven metre long shaft. Great tree trunks at the bottom of the shaft break the stones’ fall in the event of a rope splitting. Two arbors over 5m long extend from the mechanism to the outside of the tower and rotate the clock hands.