Time check! Yes, the small round clock face here actually shows the right time. And now you might be wondering if you really need such a big clockwork for such a small clock? Yes and no – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Clocks used to work differently. The large tower clock only had one hand and that was usually enough. But the people of Hamburg wanted to keep up with the times – with two hands. The thing is: the new technology wasn’t reliable. Sometimes it was too wet, other times it was too stormy – thanks to Hamburg’s lousy weather.
A clockmaker from Strasbourg ultimately ensured that clocks in Hamburg work correctly from 1912. This clockwork kept Germany’s largest tower clock, which measures an impressive 8 metres in diameter, up and running for more than 50 years. Its hands are now controlled by electronic movement in a small format. But the small clock face still shows the right time.
