- The cuckoo clock originated in 1730 in the Black Forest area of Germany. While experts don't agree on who was the first to manufacture this timepiece, it is clear that one of its earliest innovators was Franz Anton Ketterer of Schonwald. Well versed in mechanics, Ketterer fashioned a pipe and bellows system that chirped the now-familiar "koo-koo," creating a clock that became an integral part of the Black Forest year. During the winter months, snowed-in farmers would take the time to fashion intricate clocks with wood taken from local forests. They competed with each other to produce works of startling detail and imagination. The cuckoo clock continued to evolve as Germans toured Europe, bringing back new and exciting designs for this traditional craft.
- While every cuckoo clock is unique, several design features are traditional and, as a result, the most popular. According to MyGermanCuckooClocks.com, the most common is the railway house. Styled after the railway houses that dotted the German rail lines, the clock looks like a cabin, complete with a pitched roof and native flora and fauna. The door that hides the cuckoo bird is often wreathed in carved ivy leaves and vines.
Another popular design is modeled off a Bavarian chalet and represents an idealized town life. This clock utilizes human figures, often engaged in daily activity, instead of the traditional bird, to mark the hour. - A cuckoo clock is a weight-and-pendulum device. The pendulum keeps constant time as the weights use the power of gravity to turn internal gears, keeping the pendulum in motion until the weights come to the bottom of their chain. Hoisting the weights back to the underside of the clock rewinds the gears. While this is the traditional method of time-keeping, dating back to the mid-17th century, some modern cuckoo clocks have been made to accommodate batteries or electricity.
- True cuckoo clocks are still made in the traditional style, fashioned from aged limetree wood, which grows throughout Europe. Individual pieces, from the shingles to the ivy front plate, are hand carved by workshop artisans. According to the website The World of Cuckoo Clocks, manufacturers make moving parts, such as the cuckoo bird and the clock face, out of plastic to save money. As the clock is pieced together, workshops manufacture the gears and machinery before fitting the device into the body of the timepiece.
- According to The World of Cuckoo Clocks, there are five types of true cuckoo clocks: one-day movement, the eight-day movement, one-day musical, eight-day musical and the quartz. The number of days indicates how often the clock needs to be rewound. Musical clocks contain an internal music box that plays at the top of every hour, which is not included in a movement clock. And the quartz clock does not run on the traditional weight and pendulum system, but on batteries.
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