HORA Sundial NORTH

As a horizontal sundial, our new sundial HORA (lat.: hour or time of day) is derived from the mother of all timepieces. Already 2500 v. Chr. In the 3rd century BC, a stick placed in the ground was used to determine the time of day.

The material of the new sundial also has a great tradition: porcelain, which has always been the dream of European kings and princes, still has the aura of value today. The HORA dial plate is made in the traditional porcelain manufactory Rudolf Kämmer in Thuringia (Germany).

Porcelain is ideal for all-season use in the garden or on the balcony. But even indoors, on the windowsill or the sunny desk, the HORA is a real eye-catcher. Simply align with the supplied compass and the sundial already counts the proverbial "happy hours only".

The HORA displays the true solar time. It is also called local apparent time (LAT) and was the official time of civil life until the 19th century. Today we are following a time adapted or his purpose. The sundial, on the other hand, is a mirror of the course of the Sun: it reflects the natural Sun's orbit from sunrise, through the Sun's highest elevation in the very south (true noon), until sunset.

The HORA is calculated for mean latitudes (50°N). It is supplemented with two other latitude ranges: 48°N (South) and 52°N (North). If you do not care about maximum accuracy, you can also use HORA for other latitudes.

However, if you want more accuracy, we recommend the HORA City. This is calculated and manufactured as a made-to-order production for the desired location. The central spherical base made of stainless steel is drilled at an angle of the latitude, so that the shadow thrower is aligned parallel to the Earth's axis and points to the Pole Star. The dial is calculated exactly for your desired latitude.

If you want to display the Central European Time (CET), the longitude is also considered. The local time difference of the location to the CET meridian (15°E) is taken into account in the calculation of the scale. If you want to have it more exactly, you find  an annual table with the date-dependent time difference (equation of time) in the manual.

HORA City is available in the following design options:

•         Design CET: Display of Central European Time or any other standard time
•         Design CEST  (default): Display of Central European summer time or any other summer time (daylight saving time)
•         Design solar time: Display of the solar time (officially called local apparent time LAT)
•         Roman numerals: can be combined with all designs
•         Inscription: Congratulation, Christmas greeting, motto or advertising message (can be combined with all designs)

We determine the location coordinates from your address and produce the HORA City by default in the design CET or the standard time in your country. If you want to request for a different location, please state this clearly when ordering in the comment field provided for this purpose. The comment field appears during the ordering process directly after the address input.