The Timewheel () is a large

hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, or sand clock) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) from the ...

, situated in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

next to

City Park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and other incorporate ...

, right of Heroes' Square and behind the Palace of Art (''Műcsarnok''), on the site of a former statue of Lenin that now stands in

Memento Park Memento Park (Hungarian: ''Szoborpark'') is an open-air museum in Budapest, Hungary, dedicated to monumental statues and sculpted plaques from People's Republic of Hungary, Hungary's Communist period (1949–1989). There are statues of Vladimir L ...

. It is made of granite, steel, and glass, and weighs 60 tons. The sand, which consists of glass granules, flows from the upper to the lower glass chamber over the course of one year. The sand runs out on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

and the Timewheel is then turned 180 degrees so the flow of the sand can resume for the next year. The turning is accomplished by four people pulling cables, and takes roughly 45 minutes to complete. The Timewheel was unveiled on 1 May 2004 to commemorate the historic

enlargement of the European Union The European Union (EU) has expanded a number of times throughout its history by way of the accession of new member state of the European Union, member states to the Union. To join the EU, a state needs to fulfil economic and political condit ...

that admitted Hungary (along with nine other countries) to the EU. János Herner designed and built the Timewheel after an architectural design done by István Janáky.

References

{{coord, 47, 30, 46.05, N, 19, 4, 48.98, E, region:HU_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Budapest Tourist attractions in Budapest Hourglasses

See also

References