Legend says the maker of Prague's astronomical clock was blinded so he could not build another.

1410 · 1490 · apart: 80 years

But it names Master Hanuš, who only repaired it in 1490; the clock was built in 1410 by Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel.

◍ Show on the globe

The event

• Prague astronomical clock1410 · Prague. The astronomical clock on the Old Town Hall was built in 1410 by clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň and astronomer Jan Šindel. It is the oldest such clock still working; every hour the apostles parade past its windows.

15th century

More amazing facts

• 1405 · 1498 Zheng He's first fleet sailed in 1405, 93 years before Vasco da Gama reached India.
• 1408 · 1900 Less than 4% survives of the world's largest encyclopedia before Wikipedia.
• 1408 · 1492 By the time Columbus sailed, there were probably no Europeans left in Greenland.
• 1411 · 1429 Rublev's Trinity (1411 or 1425–1427) and Joan of Arc's relief of Orléans (1429) belong to the same generation.
• 1414 · 1415 The Ming court mistook a giraffe for the mythical qilin.
• 1414 In Japanese and Korean the giraffe is still called “kirin”, the name of the mythical qilin.

All amazing facts (1058) →