<translation>Old Town Hall Astronomical Clock will be launched on September 28 at 6:00 PM</translation>

Prague - The Old Town Astronomical Clock will be put into operation on St. Wenceslas Day, i.e., September 28, after several months of repairs. The restored sculptures of the apostles will emerge from the new stained glass windows for the first time at 6:00 PM. Lukáš Stránský, head of the municipal operational department, told ČTK today. The clock stopped operating on January 8 of this year due to the repairs.

"Only the calendar plate needs to be installed, and then it is basically in the final stages. The mechanism is already in functional condition at the town hall; it just needs to be connected to the calendar plate, the sculptures need to be installed, and it will be finished," said clockmaker Petr Skála to ČTK.

The apostles were given a new surface finish in restoration workshops. They will emerge from new windows made of blue stained glass. Before disassembly, the clock had metal windows from the 1970s, and with the installation of glass, the clock returns to its original appearance. The twilight will return to the astrolabe, which was previously documented in historical records.

The clock was completely disassembled for the first time since the post-war years. The mechanism of the machine is being returned to the form from the 1860s. The electric drive from 1948 was replaced during the reconstruction with the original mechanism, using hemp ropes wound on wooden drum pulleys, which will drive the clock as it was originally powered.

In the first phase of the reconstruction of the Old Town Hall Tower, the stability of the stones was secured, grids were added for safety in the balcony windows, and the golden elements on the tower were polished. The balcony was opened to the public last December. The tower clock returned in March. The complete reconstruction will cost the capital city 61.2 million crowns excluding VAT.