The Prague Meridian
in Prague
The Prague Meridian is a subtle yet historically fascinating marker located in front of the Old Town Hall, embedded into the pavement of Old Town Square. It once played a vital role in telling time in the city before the age of standardized timekeeping. At noon, when the sun was directly overhead, the shadow of the Marian Column—a now-reconstructed Baroque monument—would fall along this line, helping the townspeople determine the exact midday. This method of marking the solar noon dates back to a time when public clocks were unreliable or unavailable to many.
The original Marian Column was erected in 1650 to commemorate the city’s defense against Swedish forces during the Thirty Years’ War and also served as a solar gnomon—essentially acting like a giant sundial. Although the column was destroyed in 1918, shortly after Czechoslovakia gained independence, the meridian line remains in place as a quiet reminder of how daily life in medieval Prague was once guided by the movement of the sun.
Today, the Prague Meridian is marked by a simple brass strip embedded in the cobblestones, accompanied by an explanatory plaque. It’s easy to overlook amid the busy foot traffic of Old Town Square, but it rewards those who pause to reflect. The line aligns precisely north-south and intersects with a replica of the column’s original shadow path—an elegant, almost poetic nod to the past.
In a city filled with astronomical marvels like the Astronomical Clock and the Meridian Hall at the Clementinum, the Prague Meridian adds another layer to the city’s rich relationship with time, astronomy, and public life. It represents not just a method of marking time but a shared civic experience—a point around which both religious and daily routines once revolved.
The The Prague Meridian appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Prague!
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Visiting The Prague Meridian
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