Noon Vienna secret ritual17: 00 21/03/2010, Annie Scott, anchor watch, anchorclock, Austria, Der Anker, deranker, Vienna, supercar

Noon Vienna secret ritual17: 00 21/03/2010, Annie Scott, anchor watch, anchorclock, Austria, Der Anker, deranker, Vienna, supercar
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Austria


Every day at noon, people in-the-know gather in front of the anchor watch (above) in Vienna, Austria.

There is no story at sea in the name of this exciting watch, Der Anker just happened to be the insurance company to which it is attached. Already in 1900, Derk Anker had bought two buildings that stood next to each other and wanted a meaningful way to connect them. What could be more significant than a watch animated? (Do not answer that.)

So, is lively. This watch was built by Franz Matsch between 1911 and 1917 and has 12 full minutes of entertainment painfully slow. The character you see in front of the watch face is one of many historical figures, and turn all day, very slowly, each in his own appointment time. At noon, all of them cycle through once while classical music plays Viennese composed in twelve minutes. From what I hear, although the music is the same as over a hundred years ago.

Here is an excerpt of two minutes of rotation:
Continue reading midday ritual secrecy Vienna

Vienna midday ritual originally appeared on Gadling secret on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms of use of feed.

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