Analemmatic dials

The analemmatic dial of Marinus Hagen, Oosterhuizen

This dial does not exist anymore, so this is a historical picture. Hagen was a sundial devotee; co-founder (1978) and long-time chairman of the Dutch Sundial Society. He laid this dial in his own garden, the first one in the country. This page is a tribute to him.

The major axis was 9 m (30 ft), quite sizeable! The flagpole was at local noon. Cobblestones were used for the other hour points. The tile you see to the left of the flagpole is for 12 o'clock Central European Time (DST was not yet introduced in the Netherlands).

The date line was a copper strip in a slab of concrete. Dates were indicated at 10-day intervals. The signs of the zodiac were painted alongside. An analemma was drawn around it; not to stand on, but just to read the correction for the equation of time from a minute scale perpendicular to the date line. A unique arrangement, as far as I know.

The lady in the picture serves as the gnomon here. Hagen would normally use a vertical rod for accuracy.

Location: 52.2° NB, 6.0° OL
Design: M.J. Hagen
Inauguration: 1974; now removed

The new occupants have removed the dial. Lawn mowing was getting too cumbersome, not just because of the cobblestones, but also as the slab of concrete tended to work itself up. They respectfully retained some vertical dials that Hagen had installed. And also the flagpole is still there.

Hagen was a champion of the analemmatic dial. In 1993 he published a 40-page brochure on analemmatic dials (in Dutch).