At the Centre of Time

In 2025, the Royal Observatory in London's Greenwich district will be 350 years old. But why does our time begin in London? Who were the time traders? And how did a carpenter get involved? In search of clues south of the Thames.

It is time. The man with the red windbreaker and the trimmed white beard, a little reminiscent of Captain Igloo, looks at his watch again. ‘Well,’ he says, ’it's two minutes past 2 pm. I'm going to start. We like to be on time here.’

After all, museum guide John Noakes is not only in the British mansion that King Charles II had built in 1675 to record the positions of the stars. But also on the hill on the south bank of the Thames that became the centre of time 140 years ago.

Continue reading (in German) at KURIER