Kuckucksuhr or the Cuckoo clock belongs to the cultures and traditions of mainly the Black Forest region of Germany.
Such clocks are usually pendulum regulated clocks which strike at the end of every hour and makes the common cuckoos call along with usually having an automation resembling a cuckoo that pops in and out at each note. There are also variants in which the mechanical birds can flap their wings, open or close their beaks while in others they simply lean forward and produce the sound.
There is unclear information pertaining to the origin and the inventor of the Kuckucksuhr. However, its original locale has been identified to be the Black Forest region of Germany. Black Forest is located in the south western part of Germany within the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Overview
It is believed that the first of the first cuckoo clocks emerged in and around the year 1730. There are indeed certain historical documentations and records available in the same regard which provides information pertaining to the original inventor and tangential tales around that. However, closer examinations have revealed that crucially needed pieces of stories and dates are rather contradictory. Therefore, nothing precise or exact is available.
In any case, concerning all the available information, it is believed that the Kuckucksuhr was apparently invented in a small, snow covered village called the Schonwald. This village is located in the very depths of the Black forest area. Furthermore, as far as the inspiration behind this clock is concerned, in that respect it quite logically came from the songs that the Cuckoo sings in the forest. There is also a symbolic meaning associated with the cuckoos song. Forest dwellers believe that good luck is intended to be showered upon all those who hear the cuckoo sing. Therefore, the inventor might have wanted to resonate the very song of the cuckoo mechanically.
The clock quite cleverly uses the bellows and whistles and then produces two different notes. It was later realised that the inspiration behind this came from the wind bellows of a church organ. One of the first made clocks date back to as far as 1640. Initial production of these clocks happened during the long winter months when the farms would remain snowed and thus the people with all their imaginative might took charge. With their creative spirit along with nuanced handicraft skills the cuckoo clocks were produced. They came in a lot of designs and styles. Some of them were painted in amazing colours while the others were rich in carvings and engravings. Kuckucksuhrs were then sold throughout the European continent during the summer months. The clock peddlers travelled wide and across wearing their traditional smocks and placed their clocks on large racks which they carried on their backs.
Even today you can find small companies or individual entrepreneurs engaging in hand carving these clocks. Hand carving is quite a task which requires a master’s hand and patience. It is almost a three hundred year old tradition which is being kept alive. These master clock makers still create these ingenious items basing them on the originally drawn plans and models with minor modifications. However, the basic model still remains the same.
As far as the wood used in the production is concerned, it comes from the Linden tree. The Linden tree is a hardwood tree which grows quite extensively in the Black forest area. Culturally speaking, the Kuckucksuhr symbolises the past, present and future.
Following is a list of the different kinds of Kuckucksuhr
- One Day Cuckoo Clocks: These clocks are fit with mechanical movement mechanism which requires winding after every 24 hours. This mechanism then, after the end of every hour opens a small door and a cuckoo bird appears out and begins to perch and calls the same number of times as is the hour. The mechanical bird also cuckoos only once at the end of every half hour. You will see that the one day Cuckoo clocks are the cheapest amongst all the other cuckoo clocks. Most of the tourists can be seen purchasing just these clocks among other things when they come visit the Black Forest area. Usually you can also see two small weights hanging under the clock.
- One Day Musical Cuckoo Clocks: These clocks contain two mechanical movements which like the one day Cuckoo clock require winding after every twenty four hours. Similar to other varieties, the One Day Musical Cuckoo Clock also has a mechanical bird which pops out at the end of one full hour and this is then followed by a melody which originates from a music box. At the end of every half hour the calls of the cuckoo numbers once and is followed by a different melody. For the production of these tunes there are tiny notes when they are plucked by a rotating drum construction. Among the most common tunes that are available in such clocks are: Edelweiss and The Happy Wanderer. These clocks are visually different from the rest as they have three small sized weights which remain hanging under the clock. One of them is for the melody, the second for the time movement and the last one is for the cuckoo. Sometimes such clocks also have rotating dancing models along with other animated scenes.
- Eight Day Cuckoo Clocks: All of the models of the Eight Day Cuckoo clocks are fit with a mechanical movement which requires the winding process to be done at the end of every eighth day. The remaining functions remain the same. The mechanical bird perches out at the end of every hour and calls upon the number of hours along with calling at the end of every half hour. However they can be distinguished from others based on the size of their weights which are much larger and heavier than the other models.
- Eight Day Musical Cuckoo Clocks: Similar to the other Musical Cuckoo Clocks, the Eight Day Musical Cuckoo Clocks contain two quality mechanisms which again require to be wounded at the end of every eighth day. It also makes the door opening movement through which a mechanically constructed bird comes out perching the number of the hour along with a single perch at the end of every half hour. After the performance of this bird a musical melody follows. They also come with the option of rotating dancers and animated scenes.
- Quartz Cuckoo Clocks: You can find the German made quartz cuckoo clocks at many retail stores in the Black Forest area. However, there can be a little catch here. The Quartz Cuckoo Clocks are not considered to be as authentic as the mechanical cuckoo clocks but these too are of excellent quality. It is said that the cheaply available clocks are no match for the clarity of the enchanting sound of water running and the echo of the cuckoo in the forest. In any case the Quartz Cuckoo Clocks hold immense popularity as they do not require the tedious winding process. They function automatically. There are pendulums, weights and chains attached to these clocks to provide them with an association with the authentic, but they still are purely ornamental in nature.
- Kuckulinos – Novelty Cuckoo Clocks: The Kuckulinos is a cheaper and smaller version of the quartz cuckoo clock. These models require either one or two AA sized batteries. Furthermore, they are completely assembled and manufactured within the German territories. In most of such models you will get a swing pendulum or a girl that swings from side to side. In the other models of similar kind you will notice that they have a small mechanical cuckoo which produces the perches or the Westminster sound.
- Miniature Wind Up Mechanical Clocks: These are also mass produced in Germany and have a one day spring movement. These models also require being wound daily using a small key. In each of these models you can find a small pendulum or a mechanical figure of a small girl which bounces by the spring.
The cuckoo clocks began to reach world over by the mid-1850s. Today these clocks are so popular that most of the tourists who come to Germany get them as souvenirs.
The Characteristics
The design and the image of cuckoo clocks have become so iconic and identifiable that they have turned into a convention, at least within Germany. Traditionally speaking, they are made through carving. The entire mechanism of the clock fits inside the wooden casing which is decorated with carved leaves and animal figures. It also houses the automation cuckoo bird which springs out at the hint of the completion of every hour.
Such clocks come in two kinds of movements, the one day and the eight day. There are also versions which produce musical melodies through a Swiss music box. Most of the clocks that are produced these days are driven by their weights. Moreover, there are also those which are driven by the spring.
The weights that are used in these clocks are made out of cast iron which is turned into the shape of a pine cone. Its iconic cuc-koo sound is produced by two tiny gedackt or pipes. These pipes are hit by the rotating bellows and then the sound is generated. The movement of the bellows is activated and a puff of air is sent through those holes alternatively as and when the timekeeper strikes.
Recent times have seen battery operated quartz clocks which are indeed cheaper and therefore popular. The rest of the mechanisms and functions however remain the same. In the quartz the movement of the cuckoo is generated through the regulated operation of an electromagnet. Moreover, the sound is produced out of a digital recording that is implanted within the clock.
Some of the modern versions also have other features such as those which react to light. That is, when the lights are turned off say, at night then they automatically become silent and the hourly chimes do not happen at all. There are also those which can be programmed to strike at a particular hour. The weights on the quartz clocks are conventionally cast in the shape of Aleppo pine cones and are made of plastic usually rather than the cast iron.
Brief History
Nobody has come to an agreement pertaining to the origin of the Black Forest Cuckoo Clock. There are mostly speculations which surmount the many stories till today. The very term – Cuckoo clock goes far back to a Patrician belonging to Augsburg. He reportedly talks about a certain cuckoo clock which belonged to the Kurfürst August of Saxony in 1629. Another reference comes nearly twenty years after this one in a description made in a widely popular musical handbook – Musurgia Universalis. In this description there is a mention of a mechanical bird which flaps its wings and calls.
It is also said that carrying an inspiration from the melody Domenice Martinelli, an Italian architect made a suggestion that the call of the cuckoo should be made at the end of every hour. Most of the clocks produced since then perform the same suggested function.
The success of the Kuckucksuhr has been immense throughout the centuries. With the coming of the 19th century and the industrial revolution, the production of these clocks became slightly easier. Through most of the production still was conducted with hands and at the homes of the master craftsmen. With the trade routes improving, the demand for the Kuckucksuhr increased manifolds.
Manufacturing processes of the Kuckucksuhr were also affected by the World Wars but it was soon revived and as the wars ended exports increased across the Americas and the Asian countries.
Despite not knowing the precise origins of this clock its immense success and popularity cannot be doubted. It has managed to fascinate individuals of all age groups throughout centuries.