Brno Astronomical Clock

The Brno Astronomical Clock on náměstí Svobody is one of the more unusual public monuments in the Czech Republic. Designed by Oldřich Rujbr and Petr Kameník, the black stone column resembles a bullet or a phallus depending on your frame of mind — a comparison Brno residents are thoroughly used to making. At 11am daily, a marble is released from one of four slots, a mechanism that commemorates both the siege and the city's tradition of celebrating deception as civic virtue.

The clock caused considerable controversy when it was unveiled: critics objected to the design and its evident phallic form, while defenders argued this was precisely the kind of memorable public art that a city with Brno's sense of humour deserves. It has since become one of the most photographed objects in the city. The surrounding náměstí Svobody is Brno's main square, lined with Baroque and neo-Renaissance buildings and the best spot to watch daily life in the city centre.

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The clock was installed in 2010 to commemorate the 1645 Siege of Brno, when the cathedral's bellringer rang noon an hour early to fool the besieging Swedish army into withdrawing. The clock fires a marble from one of four slots at 11am every day — the time the bells tricked the Swedes — but which slot releases the marble changes unpredictably. Brno residents collect the marbles as good-luck tokens; the clock designers deliberately made this a game rather than a spectacle.

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