![]() The earliest clock of this type had a wooden clock face with white numbers and hands and fir cone shaped weights. ![]() The house-shaped basic form with wooden decorative elements was developed to include scenes from every day life. The cuckoo was situated in the upper section of the decorated surface and was occasionally included in the other decorative scenes. The "framed clock", as its name suggests, had a strong wooden frame and a wide painted inner section to which the clock face was attached. In the middle of the 19th century there were two principal visual forms of the cuckoo clock. However, the exact origin of the cuckoo clock is not totally clear to this day. This type of clock was made from approximately 1730 on and was considered to be the specific clock style of the Black Forest. The cuckoo itself was to be found in the semicircle behind a small door. The clock was composed of an almost square board for the clock face and a raised semicircle, and was lavishly decorated. The first model of a cuckoo clock was a painted wooden clock. The cuckoo clock became known throughout the world thanks to the peddling "clock carriers" from the Black Forest who literally carried the clocks on their backs in rucksacks. Since the 18th century the clockmakers of their region have specialized in the development of this type of clock. All over the world the cuckoo clock is regarded a symbol of the Black Forest. These original clocks evolved during the early 18th century into clocks known as the “Schilderuhr” which added hand painting, a minute hand, and chimes. ![]() The clocks were made entirely of wood, including the movements. The first clocks of the Black Forest, called “wood-beam clocks” were built around the year 1640, on a farm called Glashof. During the long winter months, the farms were snowed-in and the people had a lot of time to create finely handcrafted cuckoo clocks of many styles with rich and varied carvings. In 1808 there were already 688 clockmakers and 582 clock peddlers in the districts of Triberg and Neustadt. With their inventive genius, cleverness and dexterity, the inhabitants of the region employed the long winter months in making cuckoo clocks with richly hand carved decorations from various woods. Over the following years, the clock industry developed rapidly in the Black Forest. Ketterer managed to reproduce the cuckoo's call by the clever use of bellows producing two different sounds. It is so beautiful and towns like Triberg are the kind you see in post cards.The first Black Forest Cuckoo Clock was designed and made by Franz Anton Ketterer in the small village of Schönwald near Triberg, Germany, in the depths of the Black Forest. On a similar note, if you are ever nearby the black forest, it is a must see. I was surprised at how impressed they were with it as I figured this was a corny, touristy thing to do. These clocks are part of their history and the Germans that I was with could not stop taking it out of the box and looking at it after I bought it. Once every hour, my kids come running out to see the show!!! Even if you don't want to buy a coo coo clock, it is so neat to see all of the different varieties hanging on the wall. The end result is that I now have a really cool coo-coo clock hanging in the foyer of my home by the front door. There is a 2 year warranty and they have a store in Ohio for us Yanks in case there is ever a need for repair. It does everything that the man said it would do. The man was quite helpful and I was able to find the right clock! The workmanship of the clock is excellent and it works perfectly. Right about the time I came to the realization that I had no idea what I was looking for, a very nice employee of the store approached me and we had a pleasant chat about coo coo clocks. It's sensory overload when you first walk in as they really do have a 1000 clocks. Going to Triberg for a coo coo clock is like going to Hershey for chocolate (I used to live in Hershey by the way.). I have two small kids at home and always have wanted to get them a coo coo clock. I was in Triberg last week with some friends and was walking around taking in the sights.
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