Nearly 10 meters high and 2 meters wide… It could be the size of a terrace or the measurements of a hammerhead shark, but it is indeed a clock. Monumental, then. Saint John’s Cathedral houses an astronomical clock dating back to 1379. How can a colossus of this size be adorned with such detail and subtlety, and above all, survive the centuries?
An astronomical clock in every sense of the word
© Evo Lyon
Here is another treasure of our heritage. It is one of the symbols of Lyon, as it is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary clocks in the world. 1379: at that time, Christopher Columbus had not yet discovered America and Joan of Arc had not even been born. A different era! Like the clocks in Cluny (now lost) and Strasbourg, it is one of those truly timeless masterpieces.
Indeed, if we consider only its age and size, it is already universally admired. But when we look at its mechanism and its various functions, we cannot help but be amazed. The clock tells the time, but also the date of the day thanks to a perpetual calendar and its discs divided into 365 sections displaying the days and months in Latin. But it goes even further in its complexity, incorporating a calendar listing Christian holidays, as well as an astrolabe showing the position of the stars, new moons, the date of eclipses, and even the time between sunrise and sunset.
Add to this the ornamentation with statues, gilding, and chimes, which make the clock a truly unique piece. With a little hindsight, one can imagine the complexity of such an achievement, which, without the help of computers—let alone artificial intelligence—is a true feat of human genius.
One last restoration to start afresh
© Saint Jean Cathedral
It took several months of restoration work to get the clock up and running again at the end of last year. Clockmakers, painters, cabinetmakers, restorers… a whole army of craftsmen came to lend their expertise to restore the clock to its former glory. Because yes, this is where the magic happens. Despite numerous restorations, including the most recent one, the clock is the only one in France to have retained its original mechanism, created by our ancestors nearly 650 years ago. What a beautiful way to prolong history with this witness to time… anything but sleepy.
Just like the bouchons and mâchons, the Gros Caillou and the traboules, we can only invite you to come and (re)discover this emblem of Lyon.
So, how many times do you think it has struck the hour? If we consider (to simplify matters) that the clock was created exactly 647 years ago, we have: 647 × 365 × 2 = 472,310 times it has struck the hour!!!