Watchmaker's Day. A Tour of Ukraine's Cities Viewing Wall, Street, Tower and Other Clocks

Our life is scheduled to the minute, and we constantly check the time by electronic, wrist and street clocks, and when we notice a fault in the clockwork we turn to the masters of time. Not everyone knows that on 3 November watchmakers celebrate their professional holiday together with jewellers, since specialists of these magical crafts are called masters of golden work, or masters with golden hands.

 

In the watchmaker's workshop

From the earliest times, people synchronised their activity by the sundial, and in the 11th century the first mechanical timepiece was invented.

 

Uzhhorod. The Holy Cross Exaltation Cathedral

In the 17th century the prototype of the modern clock with two hands appeared.

 

Zbarazh, Ternopil region. The display of clocks in the castle

Cottage production grew into large factories, and the clock became an indispensable helper and a status symbol. Street and tower clocks are considered an adornment of a city, and their good order is looked after by top-class professionals.

Lviv. Lyceum No. 6

Lviv. The railway administration building

Mykolaiv, Lviv region. The Church of St Nicholas. 17th century

Sokal, Lviv region. The town hall and the clock on the tower

Henichesk, Kherson region. The clock on an administrative building

Bolekhiv, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The town hall and the clock on the tower

Svaliava, Zakarpattia region. The clock on the town hall building

Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The clock on the city administration building

Dnipro. A hotel and a street clock

The main chronometers remind us of the fleeting nature of time, and it is important that they show the exact hour. The chiming clocks on town halls and churches serve as a landmark for travellers and are usually a city's calling card.

Stryi, Lviv region. The Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God

Sumy. The Transfiguration Cathedral. The clock on the 58-metre bell tower

Mukachevo, Zakarpattia region. The town hall and the clock on the tower

Sambir, Lviv region. The town hall and the clock on the tower

Zhovkva, Lviv region. The town hall and the clock on the tower

Drohobych, Lviv region. The town hall and the clock on the tower

Vinnytsia. The water tower and the clock

Lviv. The clock on the city town-hall tower

The clock masters tried to perfect the working of the mechanisms, adding a rhythmic chime or the sound of an anthem.

Hnizdychiv, Lviv region. The Monastery of St Gerard and the clock on the tower

Dolyna, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The clock on the bell tower

Nadvirna, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The town hall and the clock on the tower

The life of a city depended on those who tended the clockwork. In Lviv, in the Middle Ages, a monk was responsible for the working of the tower clock on the Church of St Andrew. One day, having climbed the 38-metre tower, the keeper saw that a Tatar horde was rapidly approaching the city. The city gates closed at 7 p.m., and the clock showed 6:55. The monk did not lose his head and quickly moved the minute hand forward by 5 marks; the bells rang out and the gates shut, not letting the enemy into the city.

 

Lviv. The Church of St Andrew. The clock on the 38-metre tower

Sometimes a city clock has historical importance and the status of an architectural monument.

Cherkasy. An administrative building and a street clock

Kherson. An administrative building and the clock on the tower

In Ternopil there is the only three-sided clock in Ukraine, with a dial diameter of 1 metre. It is an exact copy of a Ternopil landmark that existed from 1894 and was destroyed during the Second World War.

 

Ternopil. The street clock 

A clock is a favourite meeting place and photo spot, and for romantic dates people choose the flower clock. Into the minute hand the masters mount a watering structure, and over 60 minutes the flowering composition is evenly saturated with moisture.

Poltava. A street clock

Truskavets. A street clock

Odesa. A street clock in the city garden

Lviv. The flower clock

The masters carried out servicing in service centres or in small repair kiosks, where wall pendulum clocks with a cuckoo, striking chronometers, tabletop quartz dials, wristwatches with a bracelet, pendant watches, electric tickers and ringing alarm clocks awaited their fate.

In the watchmaker's workshop

Yablunytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The market on the pass. A clock is a wonderful gift

Poltava. A clock exhibit in the I. P. Kotliarevsky museum-estate

With the arrival of gadgets the prestige of the watchmaker's craft has declined, and the schools where the profession of clock-repair master is learned have closed. Yet in the surviving workshops and repair centres the workers are swamped with work that requires great knowledge, patience, sharp eyesight and perseverance. A successful master must have precise coordination and the ability to understand the assembly of components, and must know the basics of radio and electrical engineering. The dexterity and skill of experienced masters can be called the height of the art. Only a highly qualified specialist can fix the faults and adjust the mechanism. The watchmaker's profession demands constant development and growth of qualifications, and as long as the time-measurer ticks, it will be needed.

Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The clock on the industrial town hall needs repair