This clock with a black square dial on four sides, appeared on the building in 1983. You can see it on many old envelopes and postcards, on thousands of modern Souvenirs and photos. Each dial has its own independent mechanism, and the technique sometimes shows different times. That is, if you decide to mark the beginning of the New Year near this clock, you can do it several times: first, drink a glass of champagne under one dial, then - under another…
Citizens say that this attraction is served by a single watchmaker, for 35 years. His name is Pyotr Ponomarev, an engineer who specializes in repairing tower clocks. He takes care of the mechanism, inspecting and monitoring it every day. Thanks to this, almost all the original details have been preserved in good condition. Sometimes it happens that one side of the watch is standing, and the other is working: this means that one dial is under repair.
The watch mechanism was produced by a factory in Armenia on a special order. The watch is protected by graphite plates and has a dial. It was designed to be seen from a great distance. The length of the minute hand on this tower is two meters 60 centimeters, and the hour hand is two meters 20 centimeters. The length of each side of the square dial is six meters. According to the local press, during the entire life of this watch, its hands were changed only once, and the panel with the numbers was covered with reflective paint.
The last time, when the dial of the main Pavlodar clock failed is 2012. But the problems were fixed in a few days. At the same time, the heart of the watch is sometimes called the remote control, which exists in a single copy.
In fact, such a clock on the tower is also the only one in the world. So, when you arrive in Pavlodar you just have to take a photo with this watch on the background: you will prove to anyone that you have visited this city.
Anton Sergeev
Photo By Alexandra Boyarchuk