A Look at Cuckoo Clocks Crafted in the Black Forest, Germany

In the long history of clock making and time keeping, cuckoo clocks play a large role in the appreciation of art in clocks.

As early as 1650, the call of the cuckoo bird in a clock was being heard in parts of East Germany and a region of the Czech Republic. It took nearly a century for the cuckoo clock to find its way to the Black Forest. The cuckoo clock, as we know it, comes from the region in southwest Germany, the Black Forest, where a tradition of clock making started late in the 17th century. The cuckoo clock is a favorite souvenir of travelers in Germany, where there are several different firms making the whole clock or parts of it. The people who make cuckoo clocks are dedicated craftsmen whose products are works of art. The Black Forest people who created, and developed the cuckoo clock industry, still come up with new designs and technical improvements which have made the cuckoo clock a valued work of art all over the world.

Black Forest, and Black Forest style-cuckoo clocks command big prices and are highly sought after in antique stores, flea markets and retail shops. They are valuable because of their elaborate hand carvings and unique artistry.

The basic cuckoo clock today, is the railway-house (Bahnhausle) form with its rich ornamentation of carved leaves, birds, deer heads and other animals, that have become a symbol of the Black Forest and recognized anywhere in the world. In the present market there are also quartz battery powered cuckoo clocks that produce a digital cuckoo each hour. The call is an actual recording of a cuckoo in the wild.

Most cuckoo clocks today are made in the "traditional style" to hang on a wall in your home or office. The traditional style of the cuckoo clock is a wooden case decorated with carved leaves and animals with an automation of a bird that appears through a small door while the clock is striking. There are two kinds of movements in a cuckoo clock; a one-day movement and an eight-day movement. Some have musical movements and play a tune on a Swiss music box. A cuckoo clock is typically pendulum driven, striking the hour and half hour, using bellows and pipes that imitate the cuckoo call. Today's cuckoo clocks are almost always driven by weights. The weights are made of cast iron in a pine cone shape.

Whether as pendants, toys, games, postcards, in movies, music and literature, the cuckoo clock has been or is used in everyday life. Cuckoo clocks are sold for all budgets, from modest pieces with little decoration to colossal works of art which demand high prices. The cuckoo clock is part of our culture and is still one of the most familiar clocks today. Cuckoo clocks make great gifts, souvenirs and timepieces that will add charm and character to any home or office. Cuckoo clocks truly are unique artistic creations.

Reference: Wikipedia

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