Prague, Czechia Β· UTC+2
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Prague is in the Central European Time timezone (CET/UTC+1 in winter, CEST/UTC+2 in summer), observing EU standard daylight saving transitions. Home to one of the worldβs oldest working astronomical clocks.
The Orloj, the Prague Astronomical Clock, has been marking time on the Old Town Hall since 1410. It is one of the oldest working astronomical clocks in the world. Every hour, on the hour, the twelve apostles parade past its windows while Death rings a bell and an animated rooster crows. Tourists gather below at every hour to watch. The clock measures solar time, sidereal time, and the movements of the moon and sun simultaneously.
Czechia follows Central European Time, UTC+1 in winter (CET) and UTC+2 during summer (CEST). Prague shares this clock with Pilsen to the west, with Vienna to the south, and with Berlin to the northwest.
At 50 degrees north, Pragueβs daylight ranges dramatically. The June solstice brings nearly 16 hours of daylight. The December solstice brings fewer than 8 hours. This latitude makes Pragueβs summers golden and long-eveninged, and its winters short-dayed and interior-focused.
the clockβs creator and medieval power
The legend about the Orlojβs creator, Master HanuΕ‘, claims that the city council had him blinded after the clock was completed, to prevent him from building an equal clock elsewhere. Whether true or not, the story reveals something about medieval attitudes toward time: it was power, and some wanted it exclusive.
9am in Prague is 8am in London in winter.
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Questions about time in Prague
- What timezone is Prague in?
- Prague is in Central European Time (CET), using the IANA timezone
Europe/Prague. The standard UTC offset is UTC+1 in winter. During daylight saving time (summer), it becomes Central European Summer Time (CEST) at UTC+2. - Does Prague observe daylight saving time?
- Yes. Prague observes daylight saving time. In 2026, clocks spring forward one hour on Sunday, March 29 and fall back one hour on Sunday, October 25. During DST, the UTC offset shifts from UTC+1 to UTC+2.
- What is the current UTC offset for Prague?
- Prague is currently at UTC+2. It is currently observing daylight saving time.
- What is the time difference between Prague and New York?
- Prague is currently 6 hours ahead of New York.
- What is the time difference between Prague and London?
- Prague is currently 1 hour ahead of London. Both cities observe daylight saving time on the same schedule (last Sunday of March and October), so the gap stays consistent year-round.
- What is the time difference between Prague and Los Angeles?
- Prague is currently 9 hours ahead of Los Angeles.
- What is the time difference between Prague and Tokyo?
- Prague is currently 7 hours behind Tokyo. Tokyo does not observe daylight saving time, so this gap changes by 1 hour when Prague transitions to/from DST.
- What is the IANA timezone name for Prague?
- The IANA timezone database identifier for Prague is
Europe/Prague. Use this string in programming languages and APIs: JavaScript (`new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', { timeZone: 'Europe/Prague' })`), Python (`pytz.timezone('Europe/Prague')`), or any IANA-compatible library. - Is CET the same as CEST?
- No. CET (Central European Time, UTC+1) is the standard winter time used by Prague and most of Central Europe. CEST (Central European Summer Time, UTC+2) is the same zone during daylight saving time. The abbreviation changes, but it is the same IANA timezone - the offset shifts by one hour.