23-Aug-2005

An old clock is looking for preservers! - almost a fairy tale

Long since, on the little turret of Grünsberg Castle an old clock leads its existence. It has been built in 1744 and got improved in 1775. With its two dials it is facing towards the north and towards the south. Since time immemorial owning just a single hand, it stroke the hour for the lucky ones as well as the unlucky ones. Every day the heavy weights had to be pulled up via the wooden pulleys in order to keep the clock going. This always used to be a specific role. At twelve o'clock in the day time the bell was rung. But for long, nobody had played this role anymore. The clock was resting and waiting for somebody waking it up from its beauty sleep. Hikers, mothers with their children, they all could see the clock since to their pleasure its erector had placed it on top of "Burgkapelle" (the castle' chapel) in the outer yard rather than in the hidden inner yard. Often the children were sadly asking whether the clock had died and the mothers always answered: it is not dead, it is just sleeping and dreaming.
35 years passed by. The turret more and more fell into a state of disrepair, the clock went on sleeping and dreaming. Lofty visitors were surrounding it, hornets had built a giant nest around it. The clock was dreaming about children for which it used to be a special honour to pull the weights up. Over time, the children became adults and grey and still were happily reminding the old clock hoping to wake it up again. But it was always: there is no money for it! But now, in the context of the restoration work, the clock was removed from its traditioal airy spot and brought to the best doctor for church clocks. Here it is hoping that good people will perform a cleaning and repair which still cannot be afforded by the children of the past.

But now seriously, fairy tale aside: since "Stromersche Kulturgut- Denkmal- und Naturstiftung" is a public, non-profit trust, donations for the reapair of the baroque clock are tax-exempted.
In case you want to help us waking up the old clock, then please contact Rotraut von Stromer-Baumbauer.