Historians can not decide when was this legendry clock originated and the mother of all cuckoo clocks was born. Some say that the year 1640 was the year when cuckoo clocks had originated,while some say the period of 1670-1720 and some say 1629.Though the production of cuckoo clocks started at a later time.
In the 18th century the production of these clocks spread quickly throughout many parts of Black Forest. The center where it first began was Furtwangen in the soutjhern black forest where the world famous German clock museum is located. But the first Germen Black Forest clocks were not said to be cuckoo clocks.
People who live in mountain have special skills in wood crafting and hence wood was preferred to make these clocks at initial stages. Expert clericals helped them to craft impressing timekeepers. Eariler clocks had a 12 hour movement and were made primarly of wood.Slowly and steadily wood was replaced by metal and brass which also increased the durablity of the Clock.
As the technology improoved new and better ways of producing the clocks were introduced. This drastically reduced the time of their production. It was seen that the rate at which the clocks were produced by a worker increased by 6 in 100 years. The most famous clock in Germany at that time was the sheild clock and not the cuckoo clock. But as the time produced the trend was assumed to change. At that time nearly 50% of the production was the sheild clocks. The maximum production of the clocks were seen in the period between 1800-1840. The amount of clocks produced per year was about 600,000 and were sold to people worldwide. But problems always come up at one time or the other,and so was the case. As the work for every clockmaker increased as well as the complexities of mastering the skills of making these clocks,the production slowed down.But these clockmakers were not gonna give up,so they found companionships and wholesale companies and along with them the problem was soon solved. In 1870 approximately 1.8 million clocks were sold and this number increased to 5.8 million in 1905. German clocks were considered the best clocks in the world by this time and nearly half the sales of worldwide exports came from Black forest. Also many new large factories had replaced small workshops,hence this increase in production was very much expected.
The impression created by these cuckoo clocks is so solid,that whenever a person thinks of German clocks they think about the Black forest's cuckoo clocks. The sales of these clocks to the world has been incredible. The first cuckoo clock was saaid to be build around 1740 in Schonwald and did not resemble the cuckoo clocks of nowdays. The first cuckoo clock that looked similar to the models of today was the Bahnhausleuhr which was designed around 1850. The design was that of a railway house and it was initiated as a result of a clockmaker school in Furtwangen.Right away the cuckoo clocks made a solid impression not only on the German market but also worldwide.Around 1860 the clockmakers created weights that looked very much like fir cones and also added carvings on them. Soon the Cuckoo Clock was the landmark of the Black Forest and a symbol for German craftsmanship. Contributions by Anton Schneider, Rombach & Haas, Hönes, Hubert Herr and Hekas have helped create international reputation of Black forest Clocks.
The clockmakers have not only crafted the cuckoo clocks,but also a lot of other clocks as well. These can be found at our online stores.
The Wooden Wheel Clock is one of the oldest Black forest clocks to have been produced and has a 12 hour movement. In the 19th century the Shield Clock was the most popular German clock from the Black forest. Another important Black forest clock is the Jockele clock,which cam around the 18th century. The smallest Clock is the Sorg wall clock which came around 1820. The very famous Figurine clocks were created at the same time as were the cuckoo clocks were created. They have moving figurines and elements which are very similar to the cuckoo clock. Famous is the dumpling eater ("Knödelfresser"). Flute and Music clocks were very large in size and were created specially for customers at their demand, these mark the best examples of clock making art. The Regulators saw their prime period between 1890 and 1930 and were mostly found in Germen living rooms.
The first radio controlled clock for the masses also came from the Black forest. Since 1970 many clock makers experimented with radio control techniques. The renown clock company Junghans came with the first wrist watch to the public in 1990.
If any one visits Germany then it is our recommendation to come and visit the German clock Museum in Furtwangen. It is one of the best exibits that you will ever see. It has about 8000 items,featuring one of the oldest cuckoo clocks and other historical German clocks.
About the author:
The author, Marc Wiedmaier, is COO of Wibros Online in Germany. Wibros has specialized in German handcrafts from the Erzgebirge and the Black Forest. Besides cuckoo clocks Wibros offers nutcrackers, Christmas pyramids and incense smokers.
Get more information on Cuckoo Clocks.
Here you will find more on German nutcrackers.
Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com
