Zyt Tower is one of nine towers that are part of the town fortifications of Lucerne. Two giants carry the face of its time-honored clock on its façade. There are nine more historic tower clocks inside the tower.

Since the late Middle Ages the Zyt Tower Clock has had the right to chime first: it chimes one minute before all other public clocks in Lucerne. And since late medieval times, a person tasked with this responsibility has wound the tower clock on a daily basis. The city watchmaker Jörg Spöring, who carried out his duty for 50 years, fulfilled the assignment till 2011. Within that time frame he collected nine more historic clocks from the region. They are now exhibited inside the tower – on six creaky platforms. The platform made of the oldest wood is crafted from wood dating back to the year 1403.

The clocks have old-fashioned, quaint names, such as Lieli, Horwer and Moosmatt Clock. The clocks were made between the 16th and 20th centuries. They document the history of the art of clock-making: in the beginning expert metalworkers constructed timekeepers out of iron, then the age of watchmaking arrived, and at the end of the 19th century the heyday of industrial watchmaking began.

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The exhibition can be viewed daily from spring to fall. Admission is free.