Oldest clock mechanism

2024 10 11

We are happy to announce that after almost 20 years, the mechanism of oldest mechanical clock in Lithuania has finally returned to Pažaislis! You are welcome to visit and see for yourself this unique, historic clock mechanism made by blacksmith's work.

"The oldest surviving mechanical clock is in the Pažaislis architectural ensemble. It is considered to be the oldest clock mounted in a church tower in Kaunas.

Time had a special meaning in Pažaislis. It looked out from the frames of the sundials, the faces of the four great towers. "Remember that when the sun goes down, the sun of your life will also go down," proclaims the inscription on the frame of the great sundial.

The iron mechanism of the clock was brought to Pažaislis from Kaliningrad by two Prussian craftsmen around 1665. The construction of the monastery, whose founder was the State Chancellor K. Pacas, was still being prepared. In 1676, the clock was placed in the south tower, which was under construction, and it had four dials; two were placed in the north tower. The clock mechanism has three parts: the progression, the hours and the quarter chimes. The clock mechanism as described in the monastery's construction documents is still in use today. Although it has been covered in rust, all its gears can turn. Every detail was forged by the blacksmith with care and reliability. There are no traces of reworking or refinement. Only the weights and the pendulum are missing. In 1812, the monastery was sacked by fleeing Napoleonic troops. The clock in the tower was also damaged then.

Once it is fixed and accessible to visitors, we would have a unique monument of technical history on display. The mechanism of the Pažaislis clock is significant because it reflects the development of technical thought at a very important and interesting stage in the evolution of science and technology - the border between the 17th and 18th centuries," reported the magazine "Science and Technology" in 1984 (https://www.grant.lt/ltsr/2009/12/13/laikas-niekada-nesustoja-1984/).

In 2005, the clock was under renovation and only the clock face remained in the church tower. The clock mechanism itself was dismantled and awaited a long time for reconstruction and restoration in the workshop of the metal restorer Tadeušas Kvakšys. Only few days ago it returned back to where it belongs - to Pažaislis Monastery complex.