Deutsches Uhrenmuseum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deutsches Uhrenmuseum in Furtwangen

Deutsches Uhrenmuseum (English: German Clock and Watch Museum) is located in the Black Forest town of Furtwangen im Schwarzwald, a historic center of clockmaking. It features permanent and temporary exhibits on the history of timekeeping. The Museum is affiliated with the local technical college (Fachhochschule).

The museum has a broad collection of clocks and other artefacts relating to horology, with a certain emphasis on regional products from the Black Forest, but it covers clocks and watches from around the world and spanning from prehistoric times to the present. The work of Robert Gerwig formed a primary basis of the museum.

Among the highlights of its permanent exhibits are:

The late 20th century Hans Lang clock, a one-of-a-kind, ultracomplicated, astronomical clock
One of the earliest electrically impulsed pendulum clocks, by Alexander Bain (United Kingdom, ca. 1845)
The unique astronomical clock made in 1787 by the benedictine priest Thaddaeus Rinderle at St. Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest
The monumental musical automaton clock of ca. 1880 by August Noll
A mechanical orrery (planetarium) and a Weltmaschine by "Priestermechaniker" Philipp Matthäus Hahn
One of the early clocks (Paris, 1680) using a pendulum as a timestandard, an invention of Christiaan Huygens.
Several large mechanical musical instruments (street organs)
A extensive display documenting the history of the cuckoo clock and the many styles of cuckoo clocks made over time
An easy to follow but comprehensive display outlining the history of the wristwatch