- Timewheel
The Timewheel ( _hu. Időkerék) is one of the world's largest
hourglass es, situated inBudapest ,Hungary next to City Park, right of Heroes' Square and behind the Palace of Art ("Műcsarnok"). It is made ofgranite ,steel , andglass , and weighs 60 tons. The "sand " (actually glass granules) flows from the upper to the lower glass chamber for oneyear . The last few grams of sand flow through at exactlymidnight onNew Year's Eve and the Timewheel is then turned 180 degrees so the flow of the sand can resume for the next year. The turning is done by manual power using steel cables and it takes roughly 45 minutes for 4 people to complete the half turn. The Timewheel was unveiled on1 May 2004 to commemorate the historicenlargement of the European Union that also admitted Hungary (along with 9 other countries) to the EU.The timewheel was designed by
István Janáky .The Nima Sand Museum 1-year hourglass ("The Sandtimer") in Nima City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, was constructed in 1991, and was inspired by the Timewheel idea.
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