World Time Clock at Alexanderplatz in Berlin by Silva Wischeropp

About "World Time Clock at Alexanderplatz in Berlin"

by Silva Wischeropp

About the artwork

This stunning cityscape was taken on 18 August 2023 with the Nikon D800. The colour abstraction in black and white tones gives the motif an elegant, timeless image statement. It is perfect for hanging in living and work spaces and adds a memorable atmosphere to any room. The World Time Clock was installed on Alexanderplatz in GDR times. Since then, the eye-catching clock installation has been a popular meeting place for Berliners and tourists. The World Time Clock was designed by the industrial designer Erich John in the course of the socialist redesign of Alexanderplatz. After nine months of construction, it was opened to the public on 30 September 1969. The full name Urania World Time Clock comes from the fact that a "Urania column" (weather column) was found during demolition work on Alexanderplatz. Trabant gearbox drives world time clockThe world time clock consists of a cylinder with 24 corners that stands on a column. Each of the corners of the rotating cylinder is covered with etched aluminium plates and enamelled in colour. These 24 segments schematically represent the 24 time zones of the earth. The most important names of the cities from the time zones have been engraved on the aluminium plates. An hour ring rotates in the cylinder so that the current times in the respective time zones can be read from the outside. At the top of the world time clock is a simplified model of the solar system. In a room below the clock, a converted Trabant gearbox from GDR times still drives the hour ring. The floor at the foot of the world time clock was decorated with a mosaic in the form of a wind rose. After reunification, the clock was expertly restored and errors corrected, as some cities were originally assigned to the wrong time zones. In addition, more cities were added to the aluminium plates.
The world time clock has been a listed building since July 2015.