Analemmatic dials

Avignon (Vaucluse, France)

This dial is set on top of the Rocher des Doms, which rises high above the Rhône river and yields a view of the famous bridge. Back in 1989 I had no idea of what an analemmatic sundial is, so I couldn't make much of it.

Eleven years later we visited Avignon again. The dial had been tidied up, a bed of wood chips around the hour points, the ball bushes thrown out, and the trees grown taller.

This sundial dates from 1931, as I read somewhere (the dial does not have a date). It's thus a couple of years older than the one in Vienne, which we visited shortly before and which resembles it closely. This one is quite somewhat larger, though; the major axis measures as much as 10 m (33 ft).

The instructions for use are again provided on the stone at the left and the name and location on the slab in front. Here, too, is the longitude given with respect to the meridian of Paris. The altitude is an extra data here; almost 55 m (180 ft) above, yes, above what? Sea level? The Rhône? And the stone mason happened to make a false start...

At the right are again the tables to convert local time to GMT or (daylight saving) Central European Time. Contrary to its little brother, this dial keeps good time.

Location: 44.0° N, 4.8° E
Design: G. Bonnet
Inauguration: 1931

The edge of the Rocher des Doms provides a full view of the St-Bénézet bridge, dating from the 12th century. Ruined many a time by the whimsical river, it was no longer repaired after the 17th century. The entrance to the bridge carries the Romanesque chapel of St-Nicolas, patron saint of the bargemen.