Nikolaus Lilienfeld

Lilienfeld is first attested in late 1394, when he completed the astronomical clock in Stralsund.

In 1396, he was named in two Rostock records as a witness to the notarisation in connection with the founding of the Marienehe Charterhouse in Rostock; in 1406, he worked as a hydraulic engineer for the Marienkron Monastery [de] near Rügenwalde and in 1420, he received a financial grant for the construction of a water pipe for the city of Stralsund.

Lilienfeld's importance results from the fact that he built the astronomical clock in St. Nicholas Church, Stralsund.

This makes him the oldest clockmaker known by name in the Baltic region.

The clock he constructed bears the Latin inscription: Lilienfeld probably had no academic education, but was skilled in the use of astronomical instruments.