Sun-dials in the Bernau high valley
Sun-dials are one of the oldest human cultural documentations and evidence of early observation and invention talents. They became indispensable instruments. Every clock tower had a sun-dial to keep it in time. Today, in the high-tech times of digital clocks, the sun-dials lead us back to the source of time measurement, the (apparent) movement of the sun through the day’s sky.
Meanwhile, sun-dials have also become endearing decoration for the house and garden. There are several interesting sun-dials to be admired, unique in their style, located on the southern terrace of the sunny Bernau mountain valley.
Bernau im Schwarzwald thanks Mr Professor Heinz Schumacher from Freiburg for these sun-dials. He designed and calculated these sun-dials. “The sun-dial is always accurate - the mechanical clock is given too much importance”.
Findlings Sun-dial
After 25m on the way from the town hall and tourist info centre to the resort park, on the right-hand side, the first sun-dial, a granite boulder with bronze inscription, surprises visitors.
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Noon sun-dial
It is “true midday“ in Bernau im Schwarzwald (when the sun is directly to the south) when the shadow from the bar falls directly on the lead line.
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Landscape sun-dial
Even from far away this sun-dial (beneath the bird’s house) is noticeable, with it’s 3 metre long bar projecting at an angle out of the ground. This bar leans at 48° and is the pointer creating the shadow on the ground and its clock face. The hour markings are engraved on the large, raw granite blocks.
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Ground sun-dial
Man himself as “pointer“. On the higher resort park plateau, above the mere, there are circular discs sunk into the ground, which form an elliptical curve.
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Globe sun-dial
Globe sun-dial made from red sandstone, diameter of 50cm.
The globe is positioned so that the globe axis is parallel to the real Earth axis. The stone globe receives the same exposure to sunlight as the real Earth!
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Ring sun-dial
Not in the resort park, but in the nearby mountain cemetery, lies a ring sun-dial made from granite. Ring dials are rare and in Germany there are only a few examples.
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