April 15, 2025, 1:47 p.m. | Reading time: 5 minutes
In Berlin, some clocks tick differently - they are not just timepieces. Some of them are art, history, experiment and spectacle. Sunnytrips presents the most unusual specimens.
Attempts to make time measurable and visible began with the invention of the sundial. Since the time indication inevitably went out at night and in cloudy weather, mechanical and ultimately digital timepieces were developed. Today hundreds of public clocks are ticking in Berlin. Most of them are purely functional, with an easy-to-read dial or display. But some examples do not have any hands at all; instead, water flows through them or lights flash in various shapes.
World clock on Alexanderplatz
Flowing time – the water clock in the Europa Center
Berlin clock – tricky time calculations
The Green Clock – traffic tower at Potsdamer Platz
Foucault's pendulum in the technology museum
World clock on Alexanderplatz
Meeting point and place of longing: Centrally located on Alexanderplatz, the world clock has symbolized global connection since 1969 and certainly awakened some people's desire to travel to inaccessible, distant countries during the GDR era. The rotating cylinder made of aluminum and reinforced concrete, designed by designer Erich John, shows the time in 24 world cities at a glance. The World Clock was already considered a popular meeting place in East Berlin, and during the fall of the Berlin Wall it became one of the most important meeting places for demonstrations. One can say that those who are under her today have their finger on the pulse of (Berlin) time.
How to get there?: Alexanderplatz, Berlin-Mitte; Alexanderplatz S-Bahn and subway station, various subway and S-Bahn lines (including U2, U5, U8, S3, S5) as well as bus and tram lines (including bus 100 and 200, tram M4, M5)
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Flowing time – the water clock in the Europa Center
Who doesn't know that? Time flows and melts away and cannot be held on – like water. The legendary 13 meter high water clock in the Europa Center in Charlottenburg is based on exactly this principle. The fascinating work of art made of green water and glass is the largest water clock in Europe, built in 1982 and designed by French physicist Bernard Gitton. Time pours out here into glass spheres piled up on top of each other, with a gigantic pendulum swinging. It's a wonderful place to pause in front of the three-story giant clock. With the quiet gurgling, the drops falling and the minutes counting, you forget the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. Time can be so decelerating!
How to get there?: Europa-Center, Tauentzienstraße (Charlottenburg); Kurfürstendamm subway station, bus lines 100, 200
Berlin clock – tricky time calculations
How difficult it was for us to learn to read the clock! Especially children of the analogue age. But anyone who thinks that analog and digital is enough can be proven wrong by the so-called Berlin Clock. It requires mathematical understanding and is not immediately understandable. Because it is based on a certain system (although not set theory). Developed in 1975 by inventor Dieter Binninger, it shows the time with bright color blocks - without hands or numbers. As the first clock of its kind in the world, and also as a public installation, it was far ahead of its time. After a move and a break of several years, this unique example with a retro look has now been standing in front of the Tourist Information Center near the Zoological Garden train station since 1996. An absolute must for technology nerds, math fans - or anyone who has the time and desire to puzzle.
How to get there?: Budapester Straße 45 (corner of Kurfürstenstraße) at the entrance to the tourist information office; Zoological Garden train station, subway, bus lines 100 and 200
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The Green Clock – traffic tower at Potsdamer Platz
The Green Clock has found a very prominent location; it sits enthroned in the middle of the busy Potsdamer Platz (see large photo above). This place says it all, because the Green Clock is a replica of Germany's first traffic light (1924) and is therefore more than just a timepiece. There is a clock on each of the five sides of the 8.5 meter high traffic tower, so that the time can be seen from all directions. At the time, the traffic tower was considered a traffic innovation and soon became a modern landmark in the capital. And even today it (the replica from 1997) is a very popular photo motif. By the way, in the original traffic tower, a police officer sat in a glass booth above the clock and switched the traffic lights by hand.
How to get there?: Potsdamer Platz, central; S-Bahn and U-Bahn station Potsdamer Platz
Foucault's pendulum in the technology museum
Although not a clock in the classic sense, the large Foucault pendulum in the German Museum of Technology in Berlin is still a timepiece of a very special kind. At first glance, it is fascinating because of its house-sized size, which in turn could indicate the dimension of what this experiment illustrates: The pendulum shows that the earth rotates on its own axis. This becomes visible through the slow change in direction of its oscillation over the course of a day.
How to get there?: The Foucault Pendulum is located in the atrium of the Science Center Spectrum in the German Museum of Technology, Trebbiner Straße 9; Gleisdreieck station, subway lines U1 and U2
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