Deutsches Uhrenmuseum
Encyclopedia
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
town of Furtwangen im Schwarzwald
Furtwangen im Schwarzwald
Furtwangen im Schwarzwald is a small city located in the Black Forest region of south western Germany. It belongs to the district of Schwarzwald-Baar along with the two more important cities of Villingen and Schwenningen....
, a historic centre of clockmaking. It features permanent and temporary exhibits on the history of timekeeping
Horology
Horology is the art or science of measuring time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, clepsydras, timers, time recorders and marine chronometers are all examples of instruments used to measure time.People interested in horology are called horologists...
. The museum is affiliated with the local technical college (Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
).
The museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
has an extensive collection
Collection (museum)
A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, replaceable and less exhibition oriented...
of clock
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
s and other artefact
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
s relating to horology
Horology
Horology is the art or science of measuring time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, clepsydras, timers, time recorders and marine chronometers are all examples of instruments used to measure time.People interested in horology are called horologists...
, 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
Robert Gerwig
Robert Gerwig was a German civil engineer.Gerwig was born on 2 May 1820 and attended the Großherzogliches Polytechnikum where he studied civil engineering, primarily road construction....
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
- One of the earliest electrically impulsed pendulum clockPendulum clockA pendulum clock is a clock that uses a pendulum, a swinging weight, as its timekeeping element. The advantage of a pendulum for timekeeping is that it is a resonant device; it swings back and forth in a precise time interval dependent on its length, and resists swinging at other rates...
s, by Alexander BainAlexander Bain (inventor)Alexander Bain was a Scottish inventor and engineer who was first to invent and patent the electric clock. Bain installed the railway telegraph lines between Edinburgh and Glasgow.-Early life:...
(United Kingdom, ca. 1845) - The unique astronomical clock made in 1787 by Benedictine priest Thaddãus Rinderle at St. Peter's Abbey in the Black ForestSt. Peter's Abbey in the Black ForestSt Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest or St. Peter's Abbey, Schwarzwald is a former Benedictine monastery in the village of St. Peter im Schwarzwald, in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-History:...
- 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 time standard, an invention of Christiaan Huygens.
- Several large mechanical musical instruments (street organs)
- An extensive display documenting the history of the cuckoo clockCuckoo clockA cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum-regulated, that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo's call and typically has a mechanical cuckoo that emerges with each note...
and the many styles of cuckoo clocks made over time - An easy-to-follow but comprehensive display outlining the history of the wristwatch
Similar museums
- Cuckooland MuseumCuckooland MuseumThe Cuckooland Museum, previously known as the Cuckoo Clock Museum, is a museum that exhibits mainly cuckoo clocks, located in Tabley, co. Cheshire, England...
- Mussee Internationale d'HorlogerieMussee Internationale d'HorlogerieMusée International d'Horlogerie is a museum located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, dedicated to horology, which is the study of time, timekeeping and timekeeping devices...
(La Chaux-de-FondsLa Chaux-de-FondsLa Chaux-de-Fonds is a Swiss city of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometres from the French border. After Geneva and Lausanne, it is the third largest city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of...
, Switzerland) - Dorf- und UhrenmuseumDorf- und Uhrenmuseum GütenbachThe Dorf- und Uhrenmuseum Gütenbach is located in the village of Gütenbach, one of the historic centers of homebased manufacturing of clocks in the Black Forestregion of Germany near the town of Furtwangen im Schwarzwald. It features primarily permanent and temporary exhibits on the local history...
(GütenbachGütenbachGütenbach is a town in the district of Schwarzwald-Baar in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.It is the home of the Faller toy company.-External links:...
, Germany) - National Watch and Clock MuseumNational Watch and Clock MuseumThe National Watch and Clock Museum , located in Columbia, Pennsylvania, is one of a very few museums in the United States dedicated solely to horology, which is the history, science and art of timekeeping and timekeepers....
(Lancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
, United States) - Museum fũr Uhren und Mechanische Music (Oberhofen am ThunerseeOberhofen am ThunerseeOberhofen am Thunersee is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Oberhofen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 20.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 52.6% is forested...
, Switzerland) - Royal Observatory, GreenwichRoyal Observatory, GreenwichThe Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in London, England played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian...
(GreenwichGreenwichGreenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, London, England)