"World Clock" Fountain

The "World Clock" Fountain is an unusual hydraulic structure on Manezhnaya Square that combines the functions of a decorative fountain and a working world clock. It crowns the glass dome of the atrium of the underground "Okhotny Ryad" shopping and leisure center hidden beneath the square's pavement, and it forms part of a large fountain ensemble designed by sculptor Zurab Tsereteli. It is one of the most recognizable and most photographed sights in the center of Moscow.

The structure appeared in 1997 together with the opening of the underground "Okhotny Ryad" complex, timed to coincide with the celebration of Moscow's 850th anniversary. The dome became the final element of the large-scale reconstruction of Manezhnaya Square, which encompassed the construction of the shopping center, the creation of the artificial "Neglinka" stream with a series of themed sculptures, and the complex's main fountain, "Geyser," with the sculptural group "The Seasons."

The glass dome is decorated with a mosaic image of a map of the Northern Hemisphere and is divided into twenty-four segments corresponding to the planet's time zones, each fitted with twelve lamps. The lamps light up in sequence, marking off five-minute intervals, and the entire dome makes one complete rotation around its axis every day — thanks to this rotation and the stationary dial-ring below, the exact time in any point on the globe can be read off. The base of the dome is surrounded by forty-eight alternating high and low jets of foaming water, and its summit is crowned by a figure of St. George the Victorious on horseback, the work of Tsereteli.

The entire fountain complex of the square is maintained by the "Gormost" trust, which is responsible for Moscow's bridges and embankments: before the opening of the season, specialists carry out a trial run and check the equipment, and in autumn the nozzles and pipelines are cleaned by hand. Every year on April 30, it is precisely at the neighboring "Geyser" fountain that the mayor of Moscow traditionally announces the opening of the city's fountain season, following a theatrical performance involving artists.

Despite its wide renown, the authorship of the engineering design of the rotating clock-dome has not been documented, which has given rise to a number of urban legends about the mechanism. The dome remains functional and accurate to this day, showing Muscovites and tourists the shifting of time zones against the backdrop of the mosaic world map every single day.

Today the "World Clock" is not merely a decoration for the shopping center but a fully-fledged attraction that has become part of the traditional tourist route around Manezhnaya Square, alongside the Resurrection Gate and the monument to Zhukov. The combination of engineering ingenuity and monumental sculpture makes this fountain one of the most original sights in present-day Moscow.