Jens Olsen's World Clock or Verdensur is an advanced
astronomical clock which is displayed in
Copenhagen City Hall.
The clock was designed and calculated by
Jens Olsen
Jens Olsen (27 July 1872 – 17 November 1945) was a clockmaker, locksmith and astromechanic who built the famous Jens Olsen's World Clock, world clock located in the city hall of Copenhagen, the Copenhagen City Hall, Rådhus. He was born in R ...
(1872–1945), who was a skilled
locksmith, and later learned the trade of
clockmaking. He also took part in the beginning of the clock's construction, and died in 1945, 10 years before the clock was completed.
The clock consists of 12 movements which together have 15,448 parts.
The clock is mechanical and must be wound once a week.
Displays include lunar and solar
eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
s, positions of the stellar bodies, and a perpetual calendar, in addition to the time.
The fastest gear completes a revolution every ten seconds and the slowest every
25,753 years.
The calculations for the clock were made up until 1928, after which they were supervised by the astronomer
Elis Strömgren
Svante Elis Strömgren (31 May 1870 – 5 April 1947) was a Sweden, Swedish–Denmark, Danish astronomer.
Strömgren was born in 1870 in Helsingborg, in the Skåne, Scania province of Sweden. He received his doctorate at Lund University in 1898, b ...
.
The drawings for the clock were made between 1934 and 1936,
and the actual production of the clock took place from 1943 until 1955.
The clock was started on 15 December 1955 by King
Frederick IX and Jens Olsen's youngest grandchild Birgit.
See also
*
Clock of the Long Now
*
Rasmus Sørnes
Further reading
* Otto Mortensen ''Jens Olsen's Clock: A Technical Description'' Technological Institute, Copenhagen, 1957.
References
External links
The Story of the Astronomical ClockDescription of Jens Olsen's World ClockArchive.org (Danish)
{{Astronomical clocks
Astronomical clocks
Time in astronomy
Clocks in Denmark
Tourist attractions in Copenhagen
Buildings and structures completed in 1955
Individual clocks
1955 establishments in Denmark