The Centennial Clock Found in Bursa Tophane Square Has Been Operated After 30 Years

Bursa Metropolitan Municipality had the original clock of the clock tower in Tophane Square, which has not been working for 30 years and has been inactive, restored. The restoration process of the clock, which has witnessed history for years in the 117-year-old Tophane Clock Tower, one of the symbols of Bursa, started in 2016 when Hayrettin Akpınar, President of the All Watchmaker Businessmen Association (TÜSAD), saw the 400 kilogram clock mechanism that was sitting idle in one corner of the tower.

Watch restorer Fatih Serhat Yurtdakal determined that the watch was manufactured by the French company “Bailly-Comte”, which started its operations at the beginning of the 19th century and continued production until the middle of the 20th century.

Since it could not be repaired, an electrical machine was installed instead of the mechanism that was dismantled in the 1990s. Yurtdakal brought the historical mechanism, which was left to its fate in the tower for years, to his workshop, and started repair and restoration two years ago.

Yurtdakal disassembled all the parts of the watch, which consists of more than 500 parts, and worked with great care, almost like needlework. The missing pendulum, butterfly clutches, some lever arms and some gears were rebuilt to the original, and defective and worn parts were serviced. The brass numerals of the watch took their place on the dial as Turkish numerals, which were used only on the watch dials during the Ottoman period.

Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş, who closely follows every stage from the restoration of the Tophane Clock Tower to the square arrangement works in the region, said that they successfully completed the process they started two years ago with TÜSAD President Hayrettin Akpınar and Clock Restorator Fatih Serhat Yurtdakal.

“It was worth our effort”

Yurtdakal, who gave life to tower clocks in different cities of Turkey and finally brought the historical clock in Bursa's Yenişehir district to work in its original state, said that the restoration process of the clock in Tophane was started with the efforts of TÜSAD President Hayrettin Akpınar and the process of Metropolitan Mayor Alinur Aktaş. He said he was watching closely.

Yurtdakal stated that the clock in Tophane is more complicated than the clocks in its period, and said, “The clock has the feature of playing quarters, half-hours and hourly clocks. It has 60 weights of 2 kilos each. It has a system called “Remontage égalite” that installs every 10 seconds. Before the restoration the watch was very tired and in poor condition, completely corroded. It was a tiring work, but our efforts were worth it.” said.