World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock In The Black Forest Of Germany | Europe To The Maxx

It may look totally cuckoo, but it's just a big example of a little piece of German culture. This is the biggest cuckoo clock in the world and it represents everything the cuckoo clock is famous for internationally. Precision, craftsmanship and a passion for cuckoos. For cuckoos? But why in the world? For cuckoos? The Black Forest is the birthplace of the cuckoo clock. This low mountain range in southwestern Germany is a hub of Europe's clockmaking tradition. About 100 kilometers southwest of Stuttgart is Triberg. In the early 19th century, one in every three clocks in the world was made in this area. Today, all genuine Black Forest cuckoo clocks are made here. It's also home to the biggest cuckoo clock in the world. The clock occupies an entire house. In fact, it is a kind of house. Two clockmakers worked on it for five years, completing it in 1994. The mechanism is four and a half by four and a half meters big. A world record and a masterpiece of engineering. Clockmaker Ingolf Haas tells me about it. He is chairman of the Black Forest Clock Association and knows his way around cuckoo clocks better than anyone. Time has never stood still in Triberg. It couldn't with all the clocks ticking everywhere as reminders of the old clockmaking tradition. The cuckoo clock is far more than a quaint relic of rural Germany. It's an international hit, a bestseller and a tourist magnet. I'm just one of eight million people who come to the Black Forest region every year, and not just because of the cuckoo clocks. I like the music. I think it's fantastic and it's very cute. I appreciate the handwork a lot and these are one of the finest examples. The Black Forest cuckoo clock is typically hand-carved in the shape of a farmhouse. One story claims that clockmaster Franz Anton Ketterer invented the cuckoo clock in the early 17th century. At the time, the Black Forest was already churning out clocks. Farmers used the long winter months to make the timepieces at their kitchen tables and earn a little extra. They had plenty of material right outside the door. Wood. Many of the woodcarvers are carrying on a long family tradition. Ingolf Haas takes me to see Gerhard Burger's masterful carving. Gerhard Burger used to play in his father's woodworking shop as a boy. He's been adorning cuckoo clocks with his own carving for 35 years now. But not much can actually go wrong. They even let me try my hand. The cuckoo clocks here are made of lime wood because it's easy to work with. Any desired shape can be stenciled onto it and then sawn out. The woodcarvers take these shapes and turn them into the exquisitely detailed pieces that adorn the housings. When it comes to crafts, I'm all thumbs. But I can still get into this kind of carving. But it's the clockmakers who turn the components into proper cuckoo clocks. Rombach and Haas are among the most inventive manufacturers. Ingolf Haas is also a clockmaker, carrying on the family tradition. Cuckoo clocks have been made here for over 125 years. Here, all the clocks are made by hand. All 6,500 per year. All the components, including the workings, are made in the area. The finished cuckoo clocks are shipped all over the world. The traditional models are the most popular internationally. But in 2005, Ingolf Haas decided it was time to bring cuckoo clocks in line with the times. He designed modern versions and artistic interpretations. Whether a piece of kitsch or German culture, the clocks have many prominent admirers. Russian President Vladimir Putin received this model as a gift from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. And he ordered two more. The best-selling model is a cuckoo clock that reveals its inner workings. So, actually quite simply, brilliant. This is the cuckoo clock. Why a cuckoo clock? Ferdinand Ketterer actually wanted to build a clockmaker out of these things that would have made a cuckoo clock, or should have. But he couldn't do it mechanically. And by chance, he took these pipes, these bubbles. But it wasn't a cuckoo clock. The main thing is, the cuckoo clock goes cuckoo. I would never have thought that the cuckoo clock came in so many variations. And the passion with which people here continue the tradition of the cuckoo clock really impressed me. My heart is now also beating a little bit cuckoo. Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo.