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British flag on the clock face of Big Ben: The clocks in Great Britain were also changed during the night
Photo: Alberto Pezzali / picture alliance / dpa
British punctuality: The in-house watchmakers have received prominent support to switch the around 2,000 clocks in the British Parliament to summer time.
The chairman of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, gave them a hand on Sunday, the PA news agency reported.
"There's really no excuse for either of us to be late in the hall or for a meeting with so many clocks scattered around Parliament," said 63-year-old Hoyle.
"But it is certainly a Herculean task to change the time."
Watchmaker Ian Westworth and his two colleagues usually need 24 hours for this.
Among other things, the small team has to climb the 334 steps of the »Big Ben« bell tower.
The absence of MPs due to corona has made it easier to identify broken watches, Westworth said.
"Last year we had a free hand to remove and repair clocks from rooms that are normally full of people."
Handcrafted in the royal Windsor Castle too
The time change is also a major task for the royal watchmaker.
He has to adjust a total of 400 clocks by hand at Windsor Castle, where Queen Elizabeth II is currently staying.
The palace tweeted another video on Sunday about the work of the specialist.
"Look at what it takes to keep Windsor Castle running," it said.
On the night of Sunday, summer time began in Germany - as in most European countries.
The clocks were brought forward from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. - that meant an hour less sleep for many.
Early risers now have to wait longer in the morning for the first rays of sunshine.
In the evening it is longer light.
Summer time was introduced in Germany in 1980 to save energy.
According to critics, however, the resulting energy-saving effects are hardly detectable.
In addition, some people complain of health problems from the switch, such as temporary sleep disorders.
Others, on the other hand, look forward to longer, bright evenings.
With permanent summer time, it would get light very late in winter in western and northwestern Europe.
With a constant winter time, on the other hand, it would get light very early in the east of the continent in summer.
Controversial clock change
In the EU, the abolition of the time change has been discussed for a long time - so far without an agreement.
The issue is currently on hold.
However, a joint approach by the EU states is considered important in order to avoid a patchwork of different times of the day.
The human internal clock allows many processes to run in cycles of around 24 hours - such as changes in body temperature and blood pressure, the release of hormones and the sleep-wake cycle.
If the time change disturbs sleep, the following applies: Even after a few days of lack of sleep, most people are less concentrated, more forgetful and react measurably slower.
A few tips that can help avoid mini jetlag can be found here.
cgu / dpa
