Anker Clock (Ankeruhr)
Anker Clock (Ankeruhr) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Vienna. Give it roughly ~30 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type landmark
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Vienna Vienna guide
About Anker Clock (Ankeruhr)
An Art Nouveau clock bridging two buildings over the Hoher Markt. Historic figures cross its dial to mark each hour, but the full parade appears only once, at noon.
The Anker Clock spans a lane over the Hoher Markt, linking two buildings of the Anker insurance company like a decorated bridge. The painter Franz von Matsch created it between 1911 and 1914 as an Art Nouveau work, roughly ten metres wide with a clock face about four metres across. Rather than ordinary hands, twelve figures from Viennese and Austrian history glide slowly across the dial, one marking each hour of the day against a scale.
The figures range from the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius through Charlemagne and Prince Eugene of Savoy to Empress Maria Theresa and the composer Joseph Haydn. Every hour a single figure passes with a short tune, but the entire procession, accompanied by organ music, appears only once a day at noon. Above them stand Life and Death sharing an hourglass, and the clock came through the Second World War intact.
Did you know? Every hour a single figure crosses the clock to mark the time, but the full procession of all twelve historical figures, set to organ music, marches past only once a day, at twelve noon.
How long is a visit to Anker Clock (Ankeruhr)?
Set aside roughly ~30 min for Anker Clock (Ankeruhr). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Anker Clock (Ankeruhr) worth your time?
Anker Clock (Ankeruhr) is among the 35 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Vienna, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Vienna
Day 1 of the Vienna in 2 days itinerary →Day 1 of the Vienna in 3 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Anker Clock (Ankeruhr)
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