Published: 20260320
Sometimes, all you need is to look up... The sundial of the Palace of the Grand Dukes shows the true solar time, by which life in the Palace once unfolded. The shadow cast by the gnomon’s pointer marks the time of day, while the shadow of the small sphere indicates the month and the Zodiac sign in which the Sun currently resides.
This remarkable clock shows the true time of the Palace of the Grand Dukes in winter; in summer, one hour must be added. Furthermore, the difference between our mechanical clocks and solar time is not constant, fluctuating by approximately ±15 minutes throughout the year.
On March 20t–the spring equinox–it is worth remembering that standard clocks in Lithuania show the time of the second time zone's center, rather than local time. The true local time in Vilnius differs by an additional 19 minutes.
The sundial of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania was approved as a decorative element by the Palace Reconstruction Commission back in 2008. An openwork composition was chosen for the sundial, with an emphasis on functional rather than merely decorative elements. The design features 17th-century ornamentation, and the clock’s frame was created using motifs of historical fittings and cartouches with a garland at the bottom.
The author of the sundial project is the artist and Lithuanian National Prize laureate Arvydas Každailis. Consultants for the project included Prof. Habil. Dr. Libertas Klimka, Jonas Navikas, and Dr. Mintautas Čiurinskas.
The sundial was funded by the Palace of the Grand Dukes Support Committee based in the United States. Funds for the implementation of the project were provided by Milda Skučas-Napjus, a Lithuanian living in the USA, and her son Erikas Aras Napjus. The project was realized by artist Vytautas Poška and sculptor Vytautas Navickas.
