The VEB’s Main Clock @museum.de

Throughout the entire Thale ironworks, all the clocks were accurate to the second. This main clock stood in the basement of the Main Administration Building – the impressive building right next to the museum. From the 1970s onwards, it determined the exact time in the halls, workshops and offices of the entire plant.

The pendulum clock on the left set the time. That was the master clock on which all the other clocks depended. If it failed, the pendulum clock took on the right took over within a few seconds. The 12 smaller clocks in the middle are secondary clocks, each of which could be wired to up to 50 slave clocks.

The two flip clocks above the master clocks were added in the late 1980s. Among other things, they controlled the workers' time clocks.

The main clock was set daily at 1 pm, while the slave clocks were checked once a week. That ensured all clocks throughout the plant always showed the same time.

The industrial robot to the right of the clock system was one of the museum’s first exhibits. It’s been on display since 1986. Before that, it was used as a welding robot in Container and Apparatus Construction.

Before you move on into the next room, take a moment to look at the pictures on the wall to the left of the main clock. They show the social and cultural facilities the ironworks provided for its employees: the Benneckenstein Recreation Centre, for example. It was located in the south-western Harz Mountains. The workers could spend their holidays there, go hiking, enjoy the excellent cuisine and have fun in the swimming pool.