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History and Production of German Cuckoo clocks from the Black Forest

Historians can not exactly date when the first Black Forest Clock was crafted and the mother of all cuckoo clocks was born. Some sources speak of the year 1640 as the beginning of the Black Forest Clocks, others mention the year 1629 and again others only mention the period from 1670- 1720 as the birthday of the Black Forest Clock. The production of cuckoo clocks started at a later time.

In the 18th century the clock industry spread quickly throughout many parts of the Black Forest. The center of production was Furtwangen in the southern black forest which is also the location of the word famous German clock museum. But the first German Black Forest clocks were not cuckoo clocks.

The people in the Black Forest were very skilled in working with wood because wood working has usually great importance for people that live in mountains. With the help of clericals who had broad mathematical knowledge they were able to craft impressing timekeepers. Those early clocks had 12 hour movements and were primary made of wood (including movement). Step by step the wood was replaced by metal and brass what greatly increased the durability of the Black Forest Clocks.

In the 18th and 19th century the time needed to produce one black forest clock was reduced drastically. New helpful tools and new crafts that could support the clockmaker were mainly responsible for this. The number of clocks that one worker could produce was increased by factor 6 in a period of 100 years. The most popular German clock by that time was the Shield Clock and not the cuckoo clock. About 50% of the production was Shield Clocks. The period from 1800-1840 was a period of unlimited growth. The Black Forest clockmakers produced up to 600.000 clocks per year and sold them to customers worldwide. This was an outstanding performance at that time. But logistical problems soon slowed them down. For a single clockmaker the challenges were too broad and complicated to be mastered. The clockmakers were already working at full capacity to build all the clocks that were demanded. As a solution they founded companionships and wholesale companies to solve their problems and were very successful with that. In 1870 the production of clocks reached 1.8 Million units and in 1905 5.8 Million Black Forest clocks were sold. In 1905 50% of all worldwide exported large clocks came from the Black Forest. German clocks were by far the most popular timekeepers in the world. This last increase was based on large factories that had replaced many of the small workshops.

When people think of German Clocks they think of Black Forest Clocks. And someone who thinks of a Black Forest Clock has definitely a cuckoo clock in his mind. The Black Forest Clockmakers have succeeded in selling this traditional German clock to worldwide consumers. Not for a short period of time but for centuries cuckoo clocks are a successful German export product. The first Cuckoo Clock was build around 1740 in Schönwald and did not look like cuckoo clocks look nowadays. The clockmakers integrated the cuckoo technique into the regular clocks they manufactured. The first cuckoo clock that looked similar to the models of today was the Bahnhäusleuhr that was designed in 1850. It was crafted in the style of a railway house and was the result of a contest initiated by the famous Clockmaker School in Furtwangen that saw the need for a new modern Black Forest Clock. Right away Cuckoo Clocks conquered the German and later the international market. In 1860 the clockmakers created weights that look like fir cones and added elaborate handcarvings to the Cuckoo Clocks. Soon the Cuckoo Clock was the landmark of the Black Forest and a symbol for German craftsmanship. The manufacturers Anton Schneider, Rombach & Haas, Hönes, Hubert Herr and Hekas have contributed substantially to the excellent international reputation of Black Forest Clocks and German Cuckoo Clocks.

The Clockmakers from the Black Forest have crafted other types of clocks than "only" the cuckoo clocks. You can find some of them in our online store.

• The Wooden Wheel Clock is the oldest Black Forest Clock and has a wooden 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 from the late 18th century.
• The smallest Black Forest Clock wall clock is the Sorg clock from 1820.
• The famous Figurine clocks were created about at the same time as the Cuckoo Clocks. They have moving figurines and elements close to a cuckoo clock. Famous is the dumpling eater ("Knödelfresser").
• Flute and Music clocks were large machines that were usually produced individually for customers and are very impressing examples clock making Art.
• The Regulators were the most popular German clocks in living rooms between 1890 and 1930.
• Millions of Black Forest Alarm clocks were exported until 1930.
• Also the first radio controlled clock for the mass market came from the German Black Forest. Since 1970 different clockmakers were experimenting with radio control technique. The renown clock company Junghans introduced the first wrist watch to the public in 1990.

If you come to Germany and have some time left then we recommend you to see the German Clock Museum in Furtwangen. It is the largest museum of its kind and features about 8000 items. Many old Cuckoo Clocks and other historical German clocks give a good insight on the tradition and history of clock making.

More Info about the cuckoo clock can be found on the homepage of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors