Today was a beautiful warm sunny day in Prague, so we went for a walk to the newly built replica of the original Marian column on the Old Town Square. Column stood here for almost 370 years, and was overthrown by an enraged mob after the declaration of Czechoslovak independence in 1918.

The Marian Column on the Old Town Square also indicated the local Prague time. Although mechanical clocks date back to the 14th century and the Old Town Astronomical Clock dates back to the early 15th century, their adjustment depended on solar time. Each village had its own time given by the meridian that passed through the village. The line that defined the Prague meridian was marked by three strips of paving stones and headed north from the center of the column.

After a hundred years of walking around the square without the column, it was no longer clear to many of us why the meridian was marked in the pavement. But with the construction of the replica it became clear. So today we went to see how the column measures noon again. The shadow showed noon thanks to daylight saving time at 12:58 – 2 minutes ahead. 🙂

Michaela picked for me combination of polka-dot dress with new jacket. We were surprised at how well it matched together. On the way home we stopped at the Swarovski store to look at some bracelets, and then we were glad to relax with cafe in the House of the Black Madonna.