The story of North America’s only orloj continues.
Friday, September 19 at 5 p.m., the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library will unveil a sundial mounted on the Buresh Immigration Clock Tower on the corner of Inspiration Place SW and 16th Avenue SW in Czech Village, Cedar Rapids.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell and NCSML President and CEO Cecilia Rokusek will give remarks. The team of Czech engineers responsible for the sundial will also be in attendance.
This addition comes nearly one year after President Petr Pavel of the Czech Republic and President Peter Pellegrini of the Slovak Republic visited Cedar Rapids during the unveiling and dedication of the tower’s astronomical clock, or Orloj, modeled after the famous Prague Orloj dating back to the 15th century.
Fabricated by the same team behind the NCSML Orloj, SPEL Company, with close collaboration with NCSML partners Neumann Monson Architects and Graham Construction, the sundial will be installed on the 16th Avenue face of the tower, beneath the Czechoslovak wolfdog sculpture. Gilded with 24-karat gold, as is the case of the Orloj astrolabe graphics (numbers, lines, and symbols), the sundial will tell the time of day when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the sun in the sky. The horological device will consist of a dial and a gnomon, which will cast a shadow onto the dial.
Sundials belong among the earliest types of timekeeping devices; they were popular for centuries and continue to be important means functionally and decoratively.
The unveiling of the sundial kicks off the BrewNost 2025 festivities. Tickets for the international beer, food, and music festival are available at NCSML.org/BrewNost.
