History of cuckoo clocks
The start of cuckoo clocks
Franz Anton Ketterer from Triberg Germany was the first person to build a cuckoo clock. He was able to make his clocks reproduce the cuckoo call. Many people in the Black Forest learned how he did it and the Black Forest turned into a huge clock making area. By the 1800s there was over six hundred cuckoo clock manufacturers in the area.The growth of cuckoo clock makers
Most of the first cuckoo clock manufacturers were Black Forest farmers. During the winter months they would make hand crafted cuckoo clocks using the local resources on hand. This is what gives cuckoo clocks their distinctive rural look. Then during the summer months cuckoo clock pedalers would take the clocks and sell them for the farmers in Europe. The clocks became very popular not just as time pieces but as works of art.Cuckoo clocks today
Gone are the small farmers working on cuckoo clocks during the winter months. They have been replaced by large workshops. But the cuckoo clocks are still based on the original designs. The clocks are also hand carved by skilled craftsmen and are still sought after as works of art, not just clocks.Back to cuckoo clocks
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