Stele

The stele has a ground plan of 60 cm x 60 cm and a height of 24 metres. It thus embodies the division of time, or more precisely, the day, which consists of 24 hours of 60 minutes of 60 seconds.

It is made of chrome steel and is gold-plated. Its surface gives it a distinctive signal effect. It is the work of the Aargau artist Max Matter (1941).

Solar noon

The moment the shadow cast by the stele is centred precisely on the golden mini-stele on the bench, it is exactly solar noon. In that instant, the shadow is perfectly lined up to the geographic north.

The position of the shortest shadow is marked by the plate on the bench, indicating summer solstice.

Denis Savoie, a renowned expert on sundials at the Observatoire de Paris (SYRTE - Systèmes de Référence Temps-Espace), carried out the calculations of the meridian passage times.