At the Cologne Cathedral, much is still done by hand. So also the changeover from winter and summer time. The procedure is a great honor for the cathedral master builder – even if it robs him of his night's sleep.
When daylight saving time begins on Sunday night, Cologne Cathedral will be the scene of handiwork. Cathedral master builder Peter Fussenich personally sets the historic clockwork in the cathedral's south tower forward by one hour. "It is one of the pleasant tasks of the cathedral's master builder to watch over the time in Cologne – even if you have to spend half the night," says the guardian of the world heritage site.
A technical monument
So at shortly after 1 a.m., Fussenich will climb the 100 steps to the second floor, where the mechanical clockwork from 1880 is located. "This is a treasure and also a technical monument that we meticulously care for," said the 46-year-old, who has been in office for just over a year. "There is no need at all to replace this with electronics."The movement is part of the nave clock in the south aisle of the cathedral and also controls the two hour bells from the cathedral chimes.
While turning the clock, Fussenich stops the pendulum so that the cathedral bells do not ring unmotivated and startle the people of Cologne from their sleep, he explains. "Besides, the clockwork is a bit sensitive." Afterwards the work must run through once completely, so that instead of the two o'clock strike then directly the three strikes of the first hour of the summertime sound.
"Replaces the gym"
Afterwards it is still necessary to wind up the clockwork with a crank. To do this, Fussenich has to crank up the four weights that hang from the ceiling on rollers in the room, which is about 25 meters high. "It replaces the gym for the cathedral's master builder," jokes the architect and preservationist, who is performing the time change for the third time in his role as cathedral master builder. "It is always exciting and far from routine." All in all, Fussenich plans for the entire procedure about three quarters of an hour, during which must be fully in action. When winter time comes at the end of October, on the other hand, the process is less time-consuming: The clock is "only" stopped for one hour.
The clockwork, which was commissioned in 1876 from the tower clock factory of Johann Mannhardt in Munich, has already been in operation since the consecration of the cathedral 137 years ago. "Except for war damage, the clock has always done its duty punctually and reliably," Fussenich is proud. So far – "toi toi toi" – nothing has ever gone wrong with the time changeover. "But it's always a bit exciting."