This is a close-up photo of the Zytglogge in Bern (Switzerland)

The word “Zytglogge” is Bernese German for “time bell” or clock tower. It’s a medieval clock tower located at the western end of Bern’s old town, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built: Early 13th century (around 1218–1220) as a defensive gate, with its famous astronomical clock mechanism added later in 1530 by Kaspar Brunner, a clockmaker who repaired and upgraded the existing movement, which is still used today. 

A beautifully animated mechanical show that runs every hour, about 4 minutes before the hour:

• A crow crows
• A jester rings bells
• Bears (Bern’s heraldic animal) parade
• Chronos, the god of time, turns his hourglass
• A golden rooster crows at the end

This mechanism still works largely as it did nearly 500 years ago.

Sidenote: Albert Einstein lived nearby (1903–1905).

It’s widely believed that watching the Zytglogge influenced his thinking about time, which later played a role in his development of the theory of relativity.