Musical Cuckoo Clock

A musical cuckoo clock is strikes the hours passing by with the sound of a bird, in that all familiar classic tone and has become a beautiful time piece over the years.

Usually, this type of musical clock is pendulum-driven and runs with bellows and pipes which create the cuckoo’s call.

The existence of musical cuckoo clocks began in the 17th century when Philipp Hainhofer wrote a description of a modern cuckoo clock that belonged to Prince Elector August von Sachsen. It was the very first known description of such clock. However, clocks of this kind only spread out by the middle of the 18th century. Although it is unclear who the first creator was, it is certain that early cuckoo clocks were built in Black Forest, a wooded mountain range in Southwestern Germany.

The idea of having a cuckoo bird in a clock did not really originate in Black Forest, but it was there where the industry of creating such clocks developed. Early clockmakers from the region continued to come up with various designs and technical improvements making Black Forest directly linked to the history of musical cuckoo clocks.

Today, two of the most popular brands of modern cuckoo clocks are Black Forest and River City Clocks..

Musical Cuckoo Clock Examples

As cuckoo clocks are constantly associated with Black Forest, cuckoo clocks bearing the name of the place are very popular. Some of the top models of novelty cuckoo clocks from Black Forest include the Musical Leaf and Bird clock with musicman model #1300, 1314 German One - Day Black Forest Musical Chalet Cuckoo Clock and Eight - Day German Black Forest Musical Hunting Cuckoo Clock 8330.

• The Leaf and Bird clock with Musicman model is an 11.5” x 8” x 6.5” clock that plays music after the call of the cuckoo on the hour. When fully wound, the clocks runs for approximately 30 hours. Just like most modern cuckoo clocks, this model has a handcrafted design.

• German One - Day Black Forest Musical Chalet Cuckoo Clock features a carved boy in lederhosen with animated waterwheel and dancers. The design is by Rombach and Haas.

• Eight - Day German Black Forest Musical Hunting Cuckoo Clock is designed with animated dancers and hand-carved animals. The model also comes with 2 different melodies after the call of cuckoo on the hour.

Another brand is River City Clocks which is the largest importer of cuckoo clocks from Black Forest in North America. Aside from cuckoo clocks, they also provide other traditional mantel and wall clocks, hourglasses as well as weather instruments. Among their product line, two of the most popular are: One Day Chalet Style Cuckoo Clock with Beer Drinkers Raising Mugs model # M424-14 and One Day Chalet Style Cuckoo Clock - Boy and Girl Turn Heads to Kiss model # M454-11.

• One – Day Chalet Style Musical Cuckoo Clock with Beer Drinkers Raising Mugs model # M424-14 is a 14-in tall cuckoo clock with a mechanical music box. It plays the traditional German drinking songs on the hour and half hour. The figures of beer drinkers raise and lower their mugs twice every hour while the bird cuckoos at the top of every hour. The clock features wooden hands, dial and a hand-carved pendulum which controls the timing of the clock.

• One Day Chalet Style Musical Cuckoo Clock - Boy and Girl Turn Heads to Kiss model # M454-11 is an 11-in tall clock with a very detailed design. A Country scenery is featured with many hand-carved figurines including a boy and a girl turning heads and kissing every hour and half hour. Two alternating melodies are played every hour and half hour by a mechanical music box.

So over the past centuries, musical clocks with the sound of common cuckoos managed to become part of the lives of many, not only in Germany where it originated but all over the world. In fact, musical cuckoo clocks, with their amusing sound and designs, are considered as one of the world’s valued works of art.