The Brno astronomical clock (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

: ''Brněnský orloj'') is a black stone monument in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It is situated at Náměstí Svobody, the main square in the Brno City Centre. The monument was proposed by the mayor of Brno, Roman Onderka, and it was created by Oldřich Rujbr and Petr Kameník. Every day at 11:00 AM, the clock releases a glass marble, which spectators can catch from one of four openings in the monument and take with them as a souvenir. The clock was unveiled on September 18, 2010, for the 365th anniversary of Brno's resistance to the Swedish siege during the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

. Although the monument is publicly known as an astronomical clock (''orloj''), it is only a clock. Construction of the clock took three years, at a cost of approximately 12 million

CZK The koruna, or crown (currency sign, sign: Kč; ISO 4217, code: CZK, ), has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's eight currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to Czech Repub ...

. While in media the monument is usually called the astronomical clock or Brno astronomical clock, it has a reputation for its phallic appearance. Officially, it's known as a clockwork machine (''hodinový stroj'').

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Buildings and structures in Brno Clocks in the Czech Republic 2010 establishments in the Czech Republic Buildings and structures completed in 2010 21st-century architecture in the Czech Republic Stone monuments and memorials Tourist attractions in Brno {{CzechRepublic-struct-stub