Vilniaus rotušė ir jos laikrodis: istoriografinė studija

LTStudijoje apžvelgiama mechaninio laikrodžio išradimo ir tobulinimo istorija, jo reikšmė miesto bendruomenei. Vilniaus urbanistikos raida neatsiejama nuo rotušės pastato istorijos, tad jai studijoje skiriamas pagrindinis dėmesys. Pateikiama istoriografinių žinių apie Vilniaus rotušės laikrodį ir jo varpus, taip pat apie šiuos viešajam miesto gyvenimui būtinus atributus gaminusius amatininkus - laikrodininkus ir varpų liejikus. Aprašomi ir kai kurių kitų Lietuvos miestų bei miestelių istoriniai laikrodžiai. Analizuojamos Vilniaus rotušės laikrodžio - svarbiausiojo Lietuvos valstybės laikrodžio atstatymo prielaidos.

ENThe study reports on the invention and development of the mechanical clock and its significance to the community of the town. The urban development of Vilnius is inseparable from the history of the Town Hall building, on which, therefore, the study places its primary focus. It provides a historiographical body of knowledge about the clock of Vilnius Town Hall and its bells, and about the craftsmen - clockmakers and bronze founders - who manufactured these items, integral to the public life of the town. Famous clocks of other towns and villages are also described in the paper. In its historical development, Vilnius has been a typical European capital. This is due to the geopolitical position of Lithuania and the rulers and parliament (Seimas) orienting themselves towards Western culture. Grand Duke Jagiełło in granting Magdeburg Rights to Vilnius on 22 March, 1387, helped create self-government, which stimulated the growth of merchant guilds and craft guilds. Vilnius magistracy, like any other magistracy of a European capital, tried to have the Town Hall built in the most decorative style possible, in order to emphasize the gravity of the functions of the institution. The Vilnius Town Hall that sits in the heart of the old town today is a monumental building of harmonious proportions, an example of strict classical architecture. The main faęade boasts a portico with six Doric columns and a low triangular pediment. Behind the exterior of clean design lies an ornate interior. The building is the work of the famous Lithuanian architect Laurynas Gucevičius (1753-1798). The first record of the building of the Town Hall in an official document of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania dates back to 1503, the privilege of residence granted to the foreign merchants by Alexander, the Grand Duke of Lithuania.The oldest depiction of the Town Hall can be found in the European city atlas Civitates orbis terrarum of Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg, published in 1581. The atlas depicts a building of Gothic architecture and a tall tower, already in Renaissance forms, protruding in a spacious square in the town centre. Seventeenth century Vilnius suffered many mishaps. Documents of the city magistracy note that in 1662, when the tower of the Town Hall was being rebuilt after it had been damaged during the war with Moscow, the clock was repaired by an excellent master of his craft, Aleksandras Hel- manas, while Joannes Delamars, the best bronze founder in the region, made a 1000-pound bell to accompany it. With the tower reconstructed, city life resumed. However, at the very end of 1667 the Town Hall and the tower burnt down. The bellfounders had to be hired again, until 1672, when Helmanas installed a new clock in the tower, this time with chimes. The tower was 138 feet (45 m) tall, topped by an elegant weathercock in forged metal. After the fire in 1769, Johann Christoph Glaubitz (ca. 1700-1767), a famous architect of the Vilnian Baroque, was invited to rebuild the tower of the Town Hall. His design of a graceful tower consisted of three parts, two of which were dedicated to the clock and its bells; a sundial was drawn on the wall of the tower. The new clock mechanism was made by the master artisan Grompner, who had just moved to the town. It later transpired, however, that the new tower was built on insecure foundations. It slowly began to tilt, and completely collapsed in 1781. Luckily, the clock was saved in time: Joseph Bergman, head of the clockmakers guild of the capital, had removed it from the tilting tower. Following the old traditions, architect Laurynas Gucevičius, in his sketches of a classical Town Hall envisaged a spectacular tower for the clock.However, in the late 1800s, when Lithuania was stripped of its independence, the authority of the Russian empire did not recognize any rights to selfgovernance, despising even its symbols. The Town Hall was turned into a theatre. In 1798, the clock was moved to the tower of St. Casimir’s Church, located on the outskirts of the Town Hall square. When the church was being repurposed as an Orthodox church in 1840, the clock mechanism was discarded as scrap iron. The main town square went ‘blind and deaf’. The Town Hall building regained its representative functions only after its restoration in 1936-1939. Today this historic Town Hall holds solemn sittings of Vilnius City Municipal Council, municipal award, prize-giving, and honour ceremonies, national holiday celebrations, and welcome receptions for city guests and delegations. The historiographical study deliberates whether, after two centuries, Vilnius is able to redress historical justice and reinstall the principal clock as a symbol of self-governance. The old town of Vilnius is under UNESCO protection, therefore, the new building has to fit the environment. In search of an architectural solution for the 'clock tower) one should trust the principle of historicism, use the research data on the lost tower of the Town Hall, and reconstruct its ‘Vilnian’ silhouette. Nevertheless, the information that the clock would provide should meet the needs and interests of a contemporary resident of Vilnius. All time zones could be indicated. The astronomical clock tradition could continue with news about celestial events: planetary position, meteor streams, appearances of comets, asteroids passing by Earth, etc. A chronological display of the 700-year development of Vilnius history and culture would also be of great interest and importance. The days of smiths and bronze founders being long over, it could all be represented with the newest digital and laser technology.