 When the great bell rings out every full hour , struck by a large clockwork @-@ operated hammer , passers @-@ by see a gilded figure in full harness moving its arm to strike it . The larger @-@ than @-@ life figure of bearded Chronos , the Greek personification of time , is traditionally nicknamed Hans von Thann by the Bernese . The wooden bell @-@ striker , which has been replaced several times , has been a fixture of the Zytglogge since the renewal of the astronomical clock in 1530 , whose clockwork also controls the figure 's motions . The original wooden Chronos might have been created by master craftsman Albrecht von Nürnberg , while the current and most recent Hans is a 1930 reconstruction of a Baroque original . The bell @-@ striker has been gilded , just like the bells , since 1770 . 
