Hans Düringer was a clockmaker from Nuremberg in Germany who died 1477 in Rostock. His most famous works are *the

Gdańsk Astronomical Clock The Gdańsk astronomical clock is a fifteenth-century astronomical clock in St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk. History and description The clock was constructed between 1464–1470 by Hans Düringer. Its complex dials show the time and date, phases of ...

in St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk 1470 *the Rostock Astronomical Clock in

St. Mary's Church, Rostock St. Mary's Church, Rostock, in German Marienkirche, is the biggest of three town churches found in the Hanseatic city of Rostock, in northern Germany. The other two are St. Peter's ''(Petrikirche)'' and St. Nicholas ''(Nikolaikirche''). A four ...

1472 which belongs to the so-called " Baltic clock family ". According to the tradition, after Düringer made the clock of

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, the authorities had him blinded so that he couldn't build another such wonder. On a final inspection he destroyed the clock and escaped with the help of his daughter. After a long journey Düringer came to Rostock where he was welcomed with open arms. The authorities of Rostock offered him a deal: he could stay in Rostock for free for the rest of his life when he was willing to build a new astronomical clock in St. Mary's. Under his supervision, the new clock was built. In 1477 he died and was buried in Danzig.

References

1477 deaths German clockmakers German artisans Businesspeople from Nuremberg Year of birth unknown {{germany-business-bio-stub