Dienstag, 19. März 2013

Odd things in Germany (1)

Today:

The world's largest cuckoo clock.

(No, this is not yet the world's largest cuckoo clock...)
Do you know anybody among your friends, your neighbours or in your family who owns a cuckoo clock?
(Or even you personally have one???)

Then you've a good chance you are Japanese, Chinese, Russian, British or from the United States
or from somewhere else outside Germany!

;-)

I do NOT know one German who owns such a peculiarity...
(...not even my parents...)
...although most of these cuckoo clocks are made in Germany.


Especially the Black Forest region is traditionally known for horology (--> watchmaking) and especially for what we call a cuckoo clock (German: Kuckucksuhr)

Last week, when travelling job-related through the Black Forest area in the southwest of Germany, I came around the town of Triberg, where several watchmakers are located.

Of course they're in direct competition with each other and they tout for the tourists attention.

So years ago the shop owners started to build large cuckoo clocks in front of their shops as an eye catcher.
Currently it's a company called Eble (Eble watch park) that has the biggest of all...
...so here it is!

For an entrance fee of currently € 2,- you can visit the huge clock mechanism.
So I paid the fee for you all, my friends, and took some photos.


The size of the unique clockwork is 4,5 x 4,5 meters and has a weight of 6 tons.
The lenght of the pendulum is 8 meters.
The wooden cuckoo has a weight of 150 kg!




The life-size puppet at the foot of the clockwork represents an historic "Kraxenträger" (18th to 20th century), a pedlar transporting his goods (--> clocks) afoot with a wooden back frame with shelf from front door to front door to sell them to households.


Has anybody of you, my dear friends, already visited this unique, but odd tourist trap?
;-))


8 Kommentare:

  1. Sehr schone Arbeitart! Die Deutschen machen allen so Perfekt und genau! Die Details sind immer sehr gut geplant. Ich habe einmal Rothenburg ob der Tauber besuch und habe ich schöne handmade Holz Kuckucksuhr dort gesehen. Ich möchte eine habe :-). LG Sandra

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  2. Interesting that you all don't have a cuckoo clock, I love them but I don't have one either. I love the one in Munich too :) Thank you for visiting us at pret-a-vivre.com

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  3. Thanks a lot, ladies, for your kind comments. A Black Forest cuckoo clock under the Brazil or Californian sun - that suits me fine. It's specially, even extraordinarily. But hanging on my living room wall it'll look oldfashioned and "grandparents-style"...
    You see - only tourists would desire and buy a cuckoo clock, but normally no Germans.
    :-)
    Uwe

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  4. Lieber Uwe,
    Ich wollte ein cuckoo clock haben, abbbbeeerrr, mein ex-verlobter said to me that its just a tourist thing. As you said, kein German has one at home.
    But I am Brazilian! So I deserve one ha ha ha.
    Cheers my friend!
    Márcia

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  5. Rather, I'd say ... beautiful things in Germany.

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  6. I quite agree with you, dear Márcia! A Brazilian girl (?) / lady (!) should own a Black Forest cuckoo clock, especially if she has such good relations and memories to Germany like you! There's a reason why your Ex-Verlobter is still your Ex-Verlobter, if he had given much butter advice to you in the past, he would probably be your Verlobter/Ehemann... :-))

    The next time you come to Germany we buy one in "Käthe Wohlfahrts Weihnachtsdorf" at Rothenburg where Sandra has already been! That's only 40 km away from my hometown.
    When do you start your trip to Iran?
    Enjoy your day - with or without a cuckoo clock...
    Uwe.

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  7. Odd or beautiful things - beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
    Thanks for your comment, Wong.
    Regards from Germany to Malaysia,
    Uwe.

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  8. Beautiful clocks! I remembered Rothenberg Clock Tower. Cuckoo clocks are popular in Japan. It is called “hato-dokei” in Japanese. (Hato is dove or pigeon.) I had a simple one in my maiden house and it was my role to keep wound up. Recent ones are electronic, which I’m not interested in. Thank you for showing the mechanism as well.

    Yoko

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