German Clock Museum
Deutsches Uhrenmuseum in Furtwangen
Electric Pendulum clock, ca 1845, by Alexander Bain, one of the first electric clocks
The German Clock Museum[1] (German: Deutsches Uhrenmuseum) is situated near the centre of the Black Forest town of Furtwangen im Schwarzwald, a historic centre 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 an extensive 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, ultra-complicated, astronomical clock[2]
- One of the earliest electrically impulsed pendulum clocks, by Alexander Bain (United Kingdom, ca. 1845)[3]
- The unique astronomical clock made in 1787 by Benedictine priest Thaddãus Rinderle at St. Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest[4]
- The monumental musical automaton clock of ca. 1880 by August Noll
- A mechanical orrery (planetarium) and a Weltmaschine by "Priestermechaniker" Philipp Matthäus Hahn[5]
- One of the early clocks (Paris, 1680) using a pendulum as a time standard, an invention of Christiaan Huygens.
- Several large mechanical musical instruments (street organs)
- An 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[6]
Similar museums
- Cuckooland Museum
- Mussee Internationale d'Horlogerie (La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland)
- Dorf- und Uhrenmuseum (Gütenbach, Germany)
- National Watch and Clock Museum (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States)
- Museum für Uhren und mechanische Musikinstrumente (Oberhofen am Thunersee, Switzerland)
- Royal Observatory, Greenwich (Greenwich, London, England)
- Museum Speelklok (Utrecht, The Netherlands)
Footnotes and references
- ↑ German Clock Museum at deutsches-uhrenmuseum.de. Accessed on 31 Mar 11.
- ↑ Lange, Juergen; Richard Muehe (1995). Die Hans-Lang Uhr - Sonderausstellung im Deutschen Uhrenmuseum Furtwangen. Furtwangen: Deutsches Uhrenmuseum. p. 32.
- ↑ Graf, Johannes (2006). Modern Times - Timekeeping on its way to the present. Furtwangen: Deutsches Uhrenmuseum. p. 40. ISBN 3-922673-19-8.
- ↑ Wenzel, Johann (2006). Die astronomisch-geographische Uhr von Pater Thaddãus Rinderle, im Anhang eine kurze Geschichte der Uhr, sowie ein Facsimile und die Transdskription von Thaddaeus Rinderles eigenhaendiger Beschreibung der Uhr durch Eberhard Marthe. Furtwangen: Deutsches Uhrenmuseum. p. 77. ISBN 3-922673-20-1.
- ↑ Haas, Carmen; Eduard Saluz (2007). A Brief History of Clock and Time. Furtwangen: Deutsches Uhrenmuseum. p. 40. ISBN 3-922673-23-6.
- ↑ Hundorf, Kathrin; Eduard Saluz (2004). A Brief History of the wristwatch. Furtwangen: Deutsches Uhrenmuseum. p. 40. ISBN 3-922673-16-3.
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