Clocks we saw while on a visit to Spain and Portugal

Posted on by rjoiner2021

In the early spring, my wife and I travelled to Portugal and Spain. We attended our daughter’s destination wedding in Sintra, Portugal and we decided to expand our stay, visit Spain and see the sights in Barcelona and Montserrat. Spain has always been on our bucket list and it did not disappoint.

Being a clock enthusiast I did a little research beforehand to find out if there were any clock museums along our travel route. Alas, we travelled to places that were very distant from the well know clock museums. Clocks in Europe were made in specific regions and that is where you will find clock museums. Here are a few clocks that I found in various places in Spain (Barcelona) and Portugal. I will let the photos tell the story.

Tall case clock in a cathedral
Tall case clock in a Barcelona cathedral
Little card on the side simply said "High box clock, school clock"
Little card on the side simply said “High box clock, school clock”, Barcelona
Marriage of movement and case found in a shop in Porto.
A marriage of movement and case found in a shop in Sintra, Portugal
Town clock in downtown Sintra, Portugal
Town clock in downtown Sintra, Portugal
Very ornate clock in poor condition, Pena Palace, Sintra, Portugal
A very ornate clock in poor condition, Pena Palace, Sintra, Portugal
Pena Palace, Sintra, Portugal
Pena Palace, Sintra, Portugal
Tivoli Hotel, downtown Sintra. Unknown tall-case clock
Tivoli Hotel, downtown Sintra. Unknown tall-case clock
The most ornate clcok is this working example at the Porto basilica
The most ornate clock I found is this working example at the Porto basilica
Unknown mantel clock, Tivoli Hotel, Sintra, Portugal
Unknown mantel clock, Tivoli Hotel, Sintra, Portugal
Unknown gallery clock. I could not find an opening on this clock. No arbor holes on the clock face.
Unknown gallery clock. I could not find an opening on this clock. No arbour holes on the clock face. Found on an estate in Sintra, Portugal
Flea market clock. Time and strike English or German clock, 1960s
Flea market clock. Time and strike English or German clock, the 1960s
Flea market clock. Time and strike French clock with matching candelabra
Flea market clock. Time and strike French clock with matching candelabra
Used goods store, time and strike wall clock, possibly French
Used goods store, time and strike wall clock, possibly French

I was not specifically looking for these clocks but as we visited churches, museums, shops and public places I photographed any I discovered in our travels.

2 thoughts on “Clocks we saw while on a visit to Spain and Portugal”

  1. Ron, this was a fun post to go through. A nice mix of some very nice pieces, and some fairly generic ones. It’s always nice to be able to see an assortment of typical clocks found in a foreign country. The longcases were especially nice. One clock that I did notice which gave me a bit of a smile was that gallery clock. It’s a modern quartz clock. I’ve seen them in a few stores over here, and I actually found a slightly different one on Amazon as a reference. The dead giveaway is the thin hands held with a fairly shiny brass nut.

    https://www.amazon.ca/Eruner/dp/B01A0TL6CQ/ref=sr_1_109?ie=UTF8&qid=1524316485&sr=8-109&keywords=wall+clock+antique

    The one you saw had a nicer surround, and I suppose if it’s high enough off the floor, looks quite convincing.

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