In the middle of the 14th century, in order to strengthen the defenses of the Conciergerie Palace, a watchtower was built on which, among other things, a huge clock was placed. In his decree, Charles V wrote: “The great clock will adorn Paris, which still has no city clock, and will allow parliamentarians and Parisians to plan their time, both by day and by night”.
To work on the clock mechanism, the king invited the master Henri de Vic from Lorraine. He worked on this clock for a full 8 years! And finally, in 1370, it began marking the passage of time. Back then, its dial still had only one hand.
In 1371, a bell was installed at the top of the tower so that all the surrounding districts could hear the beating of the “heart” of their city.
In former times, the accuracy of the clock was regulated by weights weighing hundreds of kilograms. However, over seven centuries, both the clock mechanism and the dial, as well as its decoration, changed repeatedly. Thus, in 1585, the chief court sculptor Germain Pilon, by order of King Henry III, redesigned the dial. As a token of gratitude to his monarch, the sculptor richly decorated the clock with state symbols. On both sides of the dial appeared two female figures symbolizing Law and Justice. During the French Revolution, the heads of both sculptures were knocked off the tower, but in 1852 they were carefully restored.
