Hands of Time Trivia Quiz

Answer: Exeter

Originally built around 1484, the Exeter Cathedral clock is one of a group of four astronomical clocks crafted between the late 14th and the late 15th centuries that are housed in churches of England's West Country. The other three are found in Wells Cathedral (Somerset), Wimborne Minster (Dorset), and the parish church of Ottery St Mary (Devon).

The Exeter clock is the only one of the clocks mentioned in this quiz to be located inside rather than outside - in the north transept of the cathedral, whose construction began in the 12th century. The large dial is a model of the solar system as it was understood at the time, with the Earth at the centre, represented by a fixed golden ball. The Sun is represented by a black disc decorated with a fleur-de-lys that points outwards to the hour; a small bell located behind the clock chimes the quarters. The Latin inscription below the dial, "Pereunt et imputantur" - a quote from Roman poet Martial - can be translated as "the hours pass and are reckoned to our account". The original clockwork mechanism can still be seen on the floor below the clock. The hole in the door beneath the clock, very likely cut to allow the cathedral cat to enter the clock room and keep it clear of mice and rats, is believed to have inspired the well-known nursery rhyme "Hickory Dickory Dock".

Answer: J.M.W. Turner

The prefecture (administrative centre) of the region of Normandy, in northwestern France, Rouen is known for its stunning Gothic cathedral, the subject of a series of paintings by Claude Monet. One of the many historic sights the city has to offer to visitors is the "Gros Horloge" ("Great Clock"), whose original mechanism dates from 1389. The clock is installed above a Renaissance arch that crosses a narrow street in the centre of Rouen, named after the clock itself. The current face also dates from the Renaissance, and represents a golden sun with 24 rays on a dark blue background. The clock has only one hand, which bears the image of a lamb, the heraldic symbol of the city of Rouen.

The Gros Horloge has been classified as a historic monument since 1862. J.M.W. Turner painted the street and the clock in the early 1830s, during one of his stays in continental Europe; the painting is part of the Turner collection at the Tate Britain.

Answer: Switzerland

Built in the early 13th century, the Zytglogge ("time bell" in Bernese German) is a medieval tower located in the historic centre of Bern, the capital of Switzerland. One of the city's symbols, and its oldest landmark, the tower was originally part of Bern's fortifications; it became a clock tower around 1405, when the astronomical clock and the great bell that give the tower its name were installed. The Zytglogge's current appearance dates from the 1770-1771 renovation in the Rococo style. A larger-than-life, gilded figure of the Greek god Chronos - nicknamed "Hans von Thann" by the Bernese - strikes the bell with a hammer every full hour.

Both the east and the west front of the tower sport large clock faces with Roman numerals. The clockwork dates from 1527-1530, when it was crafted by Bernese mechanic Kaspar Brünner. The east front, at the end of the street named Kramgasse ("Grocer's Alley"), also has an astronomical clock, built in the form of an astrolabe, installed below the clock face; next to the astronomical clock is a musical mechanism with brightly-painted figures (including seven bears - the bear being the heraldic symbol of the city) that come out three minutes before every full hour, to the delight of citizens and visitors alike. The Zytglogge, like the rest of the Old Town of Bern, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

Answer: Ulm

Located in the German state of Baden-Württenberg, on the Danube River, Ulm is known for its towering Gothic minster (whose steeple is the tallest in the world). The Town Hall, another of the city's landmarks, was built in the early 15th century; it is characterized by its extensively painted façade (largely restored in the early 20th century), Severely damaged by bombing in WWII, the Town Hall has been since rebuilt in its original appearance.

Ulm's astronomical clock was mounted in the 16th century on one of the Town Hall's gables. The clock has a 24-hour astrolabe format, crafted in elaborated detail by one of the 16th century's most renowned clockmakers, Isaak Habrecht from Strasbourg (see Q. 9). The outer circle is inscribed with Roman numerals in Gothic script, while the inner circle depicts the 12 signs of the zodiac; the hands are decorated with the Sun and the Moon. Another magnificent 16th-century astronomical clock by Habrecht (also installed on the outside of the Town Hall) can be found in the city of Heilbronn, in the northern part of Baden-Württemberg.

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm in 1879.

Answer: It has never stopped working

The superb astronomical clock installed on the southern wall of the Old Town Hall of Prague is one of the oldest in the world. First created in 1410 by imperial clockmaker Mikulás of Kadaň, it also holds the distinction of being one the oldest clocks of its kind that is still functional. However, the mechanism has stopped working quite a few times since the clock was installed, and has often been in need of repairs. The outer parts of the clock, which include a number of finely crafted wooden figurines, such as the Twelve Apostles and a skeleton representing Death, have also been damaged or partially destroyed several times - most recently in May 1945, during the Prague uprising against the Nazis.

The Prague Orloj consists of three main components: the astronomical dial, showing the positions of the Sun and the Moon in the sky; a calendar dial with medallions representing the months, painted in the 19th century by Prague native Josef Mánes; and the animated figures, which come out every hour, with Death striking the time. Some of the figurines were added to the clock in the mid-17th century, and the Apostles in the late 18th century. In 2016, the 600th anniversary of the clock was celebrated with a light show, during which videos of the clock's history and inner workings were projected on the face of the clock tower.

Answer: Moscow Kremlin

The Spasskaya ("Saviour") Tower - named after an icon painted on the outside wall - is located on the eastern wall of the Moscow Kremlin, the fortified complex founded in the Middle Ages that lies at the heart of the Russian capital. The tower, which overlooks Red Square and faces St Basil's Cathedral, is the most famous of the 19 towers that dot the Kremlin walls. Like most of the walls and towers, it was built in 1491 by Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari (Pyotr Fryazin), who had been invited to Russia by Tsar Ivan III.

In 1706 the clock, which was originally installed between 1491 and 1585, was replaced by a new one, purchased in the Netherlands by Tsar Peter the Great. The ten bells located at the top of the tower, known as "Kremlin Chimes", ring at each quarter-hour; they have played different melodies throughout the clock's history - including the Socialist anthem "Internationale", and, most recently, the National Anthem of Russia that was approved in 2000. The four clock faces on each side of the Spasskaya Tower have a diameter of 6.12 m (20.1 ft).

Though the one in Moscow is considered "the Kremlin" by definition, the word "kreml'" denotes the fortified complex found in many historic Russian cities, such as Novgorod, Kazan, and Smolensk. The Moscow Kremlin - a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990 - was the residence of the Russian Tsars in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Answer: Transylvania

Founded in the 12th century by people of Saxon origin, Sighişoara is located in the region of Transylvania, in central Romania. Its well-preserved, walled historic centre, added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999, is one of the few fortified towns in Eastern Europe that is still inhabited. The architecture of the Sighişoara citadel is strongly influenced by the town's German heritage, particularly evident in the 64-m (210-ft) Clock Tower, built in the 14th century, and the town's most important landmark. The clock was built in Switzerland, and installed in the tower in 1648. Two of the tower's facades have clock faces and niches with automated wooden figurines: those facing the lower city represent the Peace Goddess, Justice, Righteousness, Day, and Night, while those facing the citadel represent the seven days of the week, placed on a round platform that rotates every night at midnight to install the figure corresponding to the new day.

The association of Transylvania with vampires dates from the publication of Bram Stoker's "Dracula", which is partly set there, in 1897. The most famous of the region's castles, Bran Castle, has often been identified with Dracula's castle. However, this association is not always welcome in the region: in fact, in the early 2000s plans for a Dracula theme park in a nature preserve near Sighişoara (which is the birthplace of the notorious Vlad the Impaler, the main inspiration for the literary Dracula) were fiercely opposed by locals, and ultimately rejected.

Of the three historical regions listed as wrong answers, only Bukovina is partly located in Romania; Dalmatia is in Croatia, and Carinthia in Austria.

Answer: Libra

Though the famed St Mark's Clock in nearby Venice may attract more attention, the Padua astronomical clock is no less impressive. It is also a few decades older, having been created in 1427-1434, while the Venice clock dates from the 1490s. The clock is installed in the Torre dell'Orologio (Clock Tower) in Piazza dei Signori, one of the main squares of Padua's historic centre. The clock had been originally designed by Jacopo Dondi, a renowned scientist and mechanical engineer, in the mid-14th century, but was severely damaged by fire in 1390. The signs of the Zodiac, however, have survived, and were used by Matteo Novello and the brothers Giovanni and Gian Pietro delle Caldiere to create the existing clock, which was inaugurated in 1437 on the feast of St Anthony, Padua's patron saint.

The clock consists of an outer circle, where the hours are inscribed in Roman numerals, a middle band decorated with copper stars, and the circle of the Zodiac, with the Earth set in the centre of the face - which, with its diameter of 5.6 m (18 ft), is one of the largest astronomical clock faces. In the Zodiac circle, Libra is missing, and Scorpio occupies two spaces - the reason for this being that in the Greek astronomical system used by Jacopo Dondi the two signs were considered as one, and Libra was represented by Scorpio's two pincers. The tower and the clock were restored in 2010, and are now open to the public every Friday and Saturday morning.

Answer: Strasbourg

Originally built by the Normans in the late 12th century, the Cathedral of Messina was gravely damaged by the earthquake that ravaged the city on 28 December 1908. The Cathedral's campanile (belltower), however, had been demolished some decades before the tragic event, and was rebuilt in the original Romanesque style after the earthquake. In 1933, Archbishop Angelo Paino commissioned an astronomical clock to the Ungerer family from Strasbourg, who had been crafting mechanical clocks since the 14th century. Strasbourg, now the seat of the European Parliament, is home to a celebrated astronomical clock, housed in the city's Gothic cathedral. Pope Pius XI donated a model of the Strasbourg clock to Archbishop Paino, who took it as the main source of inspiration for the Messina clock.

The clock comprises a number of automated displays that appear on different levels of the side of the campanile facing the Cathedral square. These displays include a carousel of the days of the week, with each day represented by a Roman deity, a carousel of the ages of life, various Biblical scenes, the legendary heroines Dina and Clarenza, who alerted the city to the assault of the Angevin army in 1282, and - at the top of the tower - a crowned lion carrying the flag of Messina, which roars and waves the flag every day at midday. The side of the campanile that faces the Cathedral bears two dials - a perpetual calendar and a planetarium.

Brussels, though one of the capitals of the EU, is not located on the Rhine.

Answer: Jacquemart

The imposing Grandmaster's Palace in the centre of Valletta was built between the 16th and the 18th centuries for the Grand Master of the Order of St John (also known as the Knights Hospitalier, or the Sovereign Military Order of Malta). The clock tower that contains the Moors' Clock is located in Prince Alfred's Courtyard, one of the two courtyards around which the palace is built. The clock - probably the work of renowned Maltese clockmaker Gaetano Vella - was commissioned in 1745 by Grand Master Manoel Pinto da Fonseca, who used the palace as his winter residence. Its four dials show the hour, the day of the month, the month of the year, and the phases of the moon.

According to local tradition, the clock was brought from Rhodes by the Knights in 1530; in particular, the four bronze figures of Moorish slaves, which strike the hemispherical bells with hammers every quarter hour, are believed to be of medieval origin. These automatons are called "jacquemarts" (also "quarter-jacks" or "Jacks of the Clock" in English). The etymology of the word, of French origin, is disputed, but may derive from "Jacques" (French for "James", the nickname of French peasants) and "marteau" ("hammer"). The first automaton to be called Jacquemart is the one in the south tower of the Cathedral of Dijon, in France. St Mark's Clock in Venice has two very large bronze jacquemarts (also known as "Moors", even though they represent two shepherds), while the jacquemart of Bern's Zytglogge (see Q.3) is made of gilded wood.

"Jacquard" is a kind of fabric weave.