Nikolaus Lilienfeld (also Nicolaus Lillienveld, Nikolaus Lillienfeld) was a German engineer and

clockmaker A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly t ...

of the late 14th and early 15th centuries.

Life and work

The circumstances of Lilienfeld's life are largely unknown. It is assumed that he was born between 1350 and 1365 and died between 1420 and 1435. The place of Lilienfeld's birth or death is unknown. Lilienfeld is first attested in late 1394, when he completed the astronomical clock in Stralsund. In 1396, he was named in two

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

records as a witness to the notarisation in connection with the founding of the Marienehe Charterhouse in Rostock; in 1406, he worked as a

hydraulic engineer Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the mov ...

for the near Rügenwalde and in 1420, he received a financial grant for the construction of a water pipe for the city of

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

. Lilienfeld's importance results from the fact that he built the

astronomical clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...

in St. Nicholas Church, Stralsund. This makes him the oldest clockmaker known by name in the Baltic region. The clock he constructed bears the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

inscription: :''Anno mcccxciiii In die sancte nicolai completum est opus per nicolaum lillienueld orate pro factoribus et largitoribus qui cum diligencia compleuerunt.'' (In 1394, on the day of St. Nicholas, this work was completed by Nicolaus Lillienveld. Pray for the makers and donors who created it with caring diligence). Lilienfeld probably had no academic education, but was skilled in the use of astronomical instruments. His indication of the latitude of Stralsund on the dial of the Stralsund clock with 54 degrees 25 minutes is of astonishing accuracy. The clock case also bears a portrait of Lilienfeld on the southern side wall, the oldest portrait of a clockmaker ever. Due to similarities of preserved parts with the corresponding elements of the Stralsund clock, it is assumed that Lilienfeld also built the astronomical clock of

Doberan Minster The Doberan Minster is the main Lutheran Church of Bad Doberan in Mecklenburg, Germany. Close to the Baltic Sea and the Hanseatic city of Rostock, it is the most important religious heritage of the European Route of Brick Gothic. It is the remain ...

, of which only the dial remains today, as well as the

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...

Lund Cathedral Lund Cathedral ( sv, Lunds domkyrka) is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Sweden in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lund and the main church of the Diocese of Lund. It was built as the Catholic cathedral of the archiepi ...

, which is no longer in its original state. However, there is no written evidence for this assumption.

External links

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Erwähnung Lilienfelds zur Uhr in Lund (polnische Seite)

Ausführungen zur Uhr in Stralsund (französische Seite, pdf)
(8,16 MB) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lilienfeld, Nikolaus German clockmakers Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Place of birth unknown

Life and work

Further reading

External links