Cuckoos do not practise any brood care. The female scares breeding birds, kicks their eggs out of the net and replaces them by its own egg. The surrogate parents will involuntarily raise a young cuckoo, that might even be bigger than themselves. Cuckoos are living in different countries all over the world. But only in the Black Forest people have dedicated to that clever trickster a kind of memorial by creating the cuckoo clock. In this part of Southern Germany the manufacturing of cuckoo clocks can look back on a long tradition. In former times, Black Forest clocks had been hand-carved within the winter months as a kind of cottage industry. Traditional cuckoo clocks are shaped as a typical Black Forest chalet. Every complete hour, a wicket will open and the cuckoo will appear. Its characteristic call is imitated by a pipe whilst a wire gong is striking the hour.
Like the traditional Black Forest Gâteau (a kind of cherry pie), cuckoo clocks are regarded as a symbol for the Black Forest itself. Along with nutcrackers and beer steins, they once were counted among the typical german gifts. Till this day, cockoo clocks belong to the most popular souvenirs, that tourists are bringing home from a trip to Germany. Unfortunately, cheap articles from the Far East have just congested the market. Those, who wants to enjoy this present for a long time, should prefer a quality product instead of buying a bad imitation. Original cuckoo clocks can be recognised by the label «Made in Germany» and the VdS sign. These quality marks are awarded only to handicraft enterprices which actually produce their clocks in the Black Forest by materials from the region. Quality has its price, but it guarantees longevity, reliability and a problem-free supply with spare parts. If required, you can reorder pendulum or balance weight seperately.
In former times, every single clock was unique. Meanwhile, even in the Black Forest the manufacturing of cuckoo clocks has become industrialised to some extent. But there are still a lot of production steps necessary to recieve a fully functional and shaply Black Forest clock. Today, one can find also a great variety of cookoo clocks of modern style. Apart from wood, stainless steel is dominating the materials. In many cases the mechanical movements have been replaced by more precise quartz clockworks. Some modern clocks are real designer pieces. Nevertheless most tourists prefer the good old Black Forest clock with the typical wooden cottage as a home for the cuckoo.