The Clock at Puerta del Sol Stops

The clock at Puerta del Sol has stopped. The famous clock that marks the 12 chimes for the New Year's Eve celebrations is undergoing a thorough review for the first time in 30 years to clean its machinery. Parts of its components have already been dismantled, starting with the gears, pinions, and axles of the hour and quarter chimes. In fact, it stopped chiming a few days ago. This Wednesday, the hands will be halted, remaining frozen in time from midday "for an estimated period of fifteen days," as stated in a regional government communiqué detailing the historic pause.

The operation is part of the maintenance work by the clockmakers responsible for the upkeep of this Madrid symbol, which crowns the Real Casa de Correos, the seat of the regional government. This in-depth work is the most extensive in the last 30 years and the first of its kind in the 21st century. The last time its gears were dismantled was in 1996.

The mechanism of the clock at Puerta del Sol, hidden behind the minute hand visible from the street, needed intervention to prevent "wear of such magnitude that it would render it unusable. It's very simple. When a machine runs non-stop for 30 years, day and night, it wears out. It needs cleaning," explained Jesús López Terradas, who has been fine-tuning the country's most emblematic clock since 1997, alongside two other professionals.

Since its inauguration on November 19, 1866, by Queen Isabella II, the iconic clock with which we celebrate the New Year has functioned correctly, having to resolve some adjustments or withstand the impact of a shell during the Civil War on one of its dials. Now, its hands will stop for the first time in 30 years during the restoration and cleaning process of its operating system.