Clock Tower

A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more (often four) clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall.

Connected Sites

Site Rationale Link
Belfries Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)
Berat and Gjirokastra Clock tower of the Citadel of Gjirokastra, "a fairly recent addition to the castle's buildings" (Bradt guide)
Blenheim Palace East Courtyard clock tower, which is twice as old as Big Ben, with a clock made by Langley Bradley in 1710.
Bridgetown Parliament Building Clock Tower (after 1884), Main Guard Clock Tower in Garrison Historic Area (1803)
Cartagena Puerta del Reloj - early 18th century, converted from a bridge gate
Corfu In Old Fortress: added to a Venetian bell tower
Dubrovnik A dual-clock prominently displayed since 1929 on the old city's Bell Tower, originally constructed in 1444.
Edinburgh Balmoral Hotel clock tower (1902)
Graz In 1559, the Clock Tower, the symbolic monument of Graz, was given its characteristic appearance, which has remained unchanged to these days (AB ev) - Converted from a watch tower (1265) into a clock tower (1560) (wiki de)
Historic Cairo At Mosque of Muhammad Ali - There is a brass clock tower in the middle of the northwestern riwak, which was presented to Muhammad Ali by King Louis Philippe of France in 1845. The clock was reciprocated with the obelisk of Luxor now standing in Place de la Concorde in Paris. (wiki)
Independence Hall The building was designed as a bell tower, but adorned with a clock already in 1753.
Jaipur City, Rajasthan City Palace: It is a sign of European influence in the Rajput court as the clock was installed in a pre-existing tower in 1873. (wiki)
Karlskrona Admiralty Clock Tower (combination of a Clock and Bell Tower), built in 1699 as a clock for the dockyard workers (church bell was added later)
Kotor In central Kotor, built in the 17th century
Kremlin and Red Square Spasskaya Tower: "According to a number of historical accounts, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower appeared between 1491 and 1585." - the tower itself dates from 1491
Levuka Baroque stone tower with a clock that strikes once an hour, in front of the Church of the Sacred Heart (1858)
Melaka and George Town Melaka: Tan Beng Swee (Red) Clock Tower (1886)
Modena Torre dell'Orologio, late 15th century (at the Town Hall)
Nice Tour de l'Horloge: the clock tower has been demolished and rebuilt several times in its history. The tower that stands nowadays dates from 1718. At the time of its construction, it was isolated on the square, before the construction of the barracks Rusca, in 1780.
Old City of Acre Khan al-Umdan: In 1906 a clock tower was added adjacent to the main entrance to the khan to commemorate the silver jubilee of the rule of Ottoman sultan Abd al-Hamid II. (Wiki)
Old City of Berne Zytglogge: a medieval tower, "a clock was first installed above the gate in the early 15th century, probably including a simple astronomical clock and musical mechanism"
Old Town of Galle Galle Fort Clock Tower (1883)
Oporto Torre dos Clérigos
Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles Torre dell'Orologio on the Piazza dei Signori
Paramaribo At the Ministry of Finance (1839)
Regensburg Brückturm, a converted medieval watch tower
Route of Santiago de Compostela Clock towers of the cathedrals of Lugo, Oviedo and Bilbao
Safranbolu Safranbolu Watchtower, built in 1797 with an English clock inside
San Marino and Mount Titano Palazzo Pubblico (Nomination file, p. 35)
Santiago de Compostela Part of the Cathedral:"The Clock Tower, also called Torre da Trindade or, Berenguela, is at the intersection of the Pratarías square and the Quintana square. (...) In 1833 a clock was placed on each side of the tower by Andrés Antelo, commissioned by the Archbishop Rafael de Vélez. As part of its mechanism it has two bells, one, at the hour, called Berenguela, and a smaller one marking the quarter hours."
Siena Torre del Mangia: originally a bell tower, a clock on the lower part of the shaft was added in 1360
Sighisoara Built in the 14th century as a simple gate tower, in 1604 a wooden clock work was added
Sintra Pena Palace: a clock tower from 1843
Studley Royal Park "Studley Royal House has distinct pavilion towers in all four corners surrounding a central courtyard and working clock tower."
University of Coimbra New clock tower of 1728 (AB ev) - "Its distinct shape results from one of the original purposes - to serve as an astronomical observation site, hence the “roofless” top"
Val di Noto Catania Cathedral, Noto Cathedral
Venice and its Lagoon Torre dell'Orologio at St. Mark Square: The tower was built during 1496 and 1497 and the mechanism of the clock was then built into it (wiki)
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai Rajabai Clock tower (1878)
Westminster At the Palace of Westminster: the official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The tower dates from 1859.
Willemstad Part of the Fort Church, originating in 1788.
Yazd Markar Clock Tower (1942)

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