The current clock is the fourth in the history of Collegium Maius. The first clockwork mechanism dates to the period before 1465, for in that year the chronicles note the repair of a clock "of remarkable size" . That clock was destroyed in the 1492 fire and then rebuilt thanks to the efforts of the University authorities and Queen Elisabeth of Habsburg. This clock was to keep time for a few decades.
The third clock was funded in 1522 by the professor and generous benefactor of the University, Maciej of Miechów. The new clock had an unusual construction with symbols of the Sun and Moon moving along the mechanism. The reason for the disappearance of this clock remains unknown.
The present clock began its work on 30th September 2000. The computer system installed within it starts a procession of historical figures, accompanied by a musical motif , which is a fragment of a court music piece composed by Jan of Lublin, attributed to the mid-16th century. The clock also plays an instrumental version of the Gaudeamus Igitur academic song. The figures moving outside refer to various persons related to the University's history: a bedel (a University official), Queen Jadwiga, King Ladislaus the Jagiellonian, St. Jan of Kęty, Hugo Kołłątaj and the Rector Stanisław from Skalbmierz.