The First Cuckoo Clocks made in the Black Forest

It is not clear who built the first cuckoo clocks in theBlack Forest but there is unanimity that the unusual clock with the bird call very quickly conquered the region. Already by the middle of the eighteenth century, several small clockmaking shops produced cuckoo clocks with wooden gears. So the first Black Forest cuckoo clocks were created between 1740 and 1750. They had hand-painted shields. It is hard to judge how large the proportion of cuckoo clocks was among the total production of modern movement Black Forest clocks. Based on the proportions of pieces surviving to the present, it must have been a small fraction of the total production. About its murky origins, there are two main fables from the first two chroniclers of Black Forest horology which tell contradicting stories about the origin of the cuckoo clock The first is from Father Franz Steyrer, written in his Geshichte der Schwarzwälder Uhrmacherkunst" (History of Clockmaking in the Black Forest) in 1796. He describes a meeting between two clock peddlers from Furtwangen (Black Forest) who met a travelling Bohemian merchant who sold wooden cuckoo clocks.Both the Furtwangen traders were so excited that they bought one. On bringing it home they copied it and showed their imitation to other Black Forest clock traders. Its popularity grew in the region and more and more clockmakers started producing them. With regard to this chronicle, the historian Adolf Kistner claimed in his book "Die Schwarzwälder Uhr" (The Black Forest Clock) published in 1927, that there is not any Bohemian cuckoo clock in existence to verify the thesis that this clock was used as a sample to copy and produce Black Forest cuckoo clocks Bohemia had no fundamental clockmaking industry during this period. The second story is related by another priest, Markus FidelisJäck, in a passage from his report "Darstellungen aus der Industrie und des Verkehrs aus dem Schwarzwald" (Description of Industry and Commerce of the Black Forest), (1810): "The cuckoo clock was invented (in 1730) by a clock-master (Franz Anton Ketterer) from Schönwald (Black Forest).This craftsman adorned a clock with a moving bird that announced the hour with the cuckoo-call. The clock-master got the idea of how to make the cuckoo-call from the bellows of a church organ". As time went on, the second version became the more popular, and is the one generally related today. Unfortunately, neither Steyrer nor Jäck quote any sources for their claims, making them unverifiable.

Some History on Hubert Hurr

Already at the beginning of the 19th century, the two brothers Andreas and Christian HERR, born in 1812 and 1814, were making cuckoo clocks in a farmhouse nearby the town of Triberg in the Black Forest of Germany. This skill and the know-how about making of cuckoo clocks has then been passed on to the next generation, Eduard HERR. He was the one who then moved from outside of Triberg downtown, bought land and built his workshop on Nussbacherstrasse. His son HUBERT HERR continued the work of Eduard HERR, bought additional land in the middle of Triberg, Hauptstrasse 8, which is still now the home of the company, enlarged the workshop and moved upwards step by step. HUBERT HERR was a master woodcarver and all wooden cuckoo clock cases and carvings were already made in those days in the small factory and workshop. HUBERT HERR had five children and they all worked at the factory and workshop. Production increased from year to year and already in those days the cuckoo clocks were shipped to many countries around the world. Today the HUBERT HERR cuckoo clock factory is managed by the 5th generation, Klaus HERR, Reinhard HERR and Hugo HERR. Worldknown, HUBERT HERR cuckoo clocks are of finest quality and workmanship. HUBERT HERR is the only manufacturer of cuckoo clocks in Germany making the movements, carvings and also the clock cases in its own premises. Due to this set-up of the important parts of the clock made in their own factory, with constant quality control throughout the manufacturing process, HUBERT HERR can supply to the customers in more than 60 countries of the world a high quality product, all made by skilled craftsmen in the Black Forest of Germany. All clocks are made out of solid wood and are guaranteed handcarved. Inside they have the finest mechanical movements, weight driven to preserve the traditional way of making and presenting these Original Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks. I am also a "Authorized Repair Service" for Herr Clocks. I do repair Mantel and Wall Clocks also. Call or email David for details.