In Prague, tourists push one another to catch a glimpse of the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square. In Olomouc, there are not that many tourists in front of the Communist Clock in their Upper Square.

Astronomical Clocks were quite popular in central Europe, many featured mechanical images and puppets. Prague’s clock and Munich’s clock are perhaps the more well-known ones but there are a few others off the beaten path. In 1419 in the eastern Czech town of Olomouc the town elders decided to have a clock of their own to rival the one in Prague. (Well, the local tourist office claims it was in 1419 but the first recorded mention of it dates back to 1517)

Their clock had religious symbols and saints who would dance on the hour as holy tunes rung out. This was the main sight in the centre of the town until 1945 when retreating Nazi forces opened fire on the clock. They completely destroyed the facade and imagery.

A few years later, a local artist decided to reconstruct the clock. He employed a clock maker to repair the mechanism but wanted to re-do the imagery to reflect a new, changing world. Given the cloak of communism that covered the region at the time, this young artist decided to use Soviet imagery to update the clock.

There’s more Communist-inspired art in Prague’s castle complex.

The clock is still there, and is operational. Instead of saints you can see miniature proletarians like farmers, labourers and factory workers. They all obediently toil for the common good, like every good communist should. At noon, tiny blacksmiths ring out a tune based on an old folk song.

At first glance, the clock looks more impressive than Prague’s. This is the effect of all the mosaic that surrounds the dials. As soon as you get closer, the effect of Socialist Realism kicks in. I confess I did have a ‘ WTF’ moment as it does look unusual. There are separate dials showing the date (one for the month, one for the day), dials showing the current astrological sign and whether the sun or moon are in that sign or not.

There also is a large dial showing which name day it is. (The latter is a Czech tradition – every day is associated with a specific name. When the day associated with your name comes round, everyone wishes you a “Happy Name Day”. It’s considered as important as your birthday for some.)