It’s not known for sure exactly when the cuckoo clock came on the scene, but they first started to appear around 1700 in the Black Forest area of Germany.  To this day, even with all that has come along with modern experience, skill and technology, no other clock or timepiece has made the lasting impression that the cuckoo clock made at the time of its introduction. Although there are a number of conflicting stories about who actually made the first cuckoo clock, the invention is generally attributed to a gentleman by the name of Franz Anton Ketterer, from the town of Triberg. This clock is one of the most unique home décor items ever invented.  They are also most affordable in the line of home décor.

The first cuckoo clocks were entirely made out of wood and were most unique in the line of home décor.  The internal plates and gears were also made of all wood.  This is one of the reasons they were affordable for the home and made a very unique home décor item.

As time went on, the inner workings and decorations of the clocks became more sophisticated and ornate. The birds' wings and beaks became animated, and some were even decorated with feathers. The inner workings of the clocks were improved with the introduction of metal gears and metal plates. Soon family scenes, hunting scenarios and military motifs gained in popularity, all accentuated with the "cuckoo" call on the half hour and on the hour.  When you look back to the beginning of the cuckoo clock, you can see how unique and fun these clocks were and why they are still so popular today.

All of the early cuckoo clocks were handmade including the inner timing mechanisms as well as the ornate decorations. The farmers in the Black Forest would spend the winter months making hand crafted cuckoo clocks from the local resources in their surrounding environs which gave the clocks their distinctive, rural look. The clocks were then sold during the warmer months both as timepieces and as works of unique home décor art. These affordable home décor items are still popular today and hang in many homes as unique home décor items that have a history and a place in time.

As the world became more industrialized in the late 1800's, the cuckoo clock industry was no exception. Cuckoo clock manufacturing houses dotted Germany and various other countries in Europe. It was still partially a cottage industry, with work being done in people's homes and barns, but there were also a growing number of factories. The work was split between the decorators and the masters of the inner workings, with technological advances in each area in order to offer clocks increasingly complicated and ornate and keep up with the growing competition. These unique home décor items made affordable home décor gifts and their popularity soared throughout Germany.

When one is looking for a unique home décor item, and one that is affordable for their home décor, the place to look online is the Low Cost Home Décor Outlet.  This is a fun place to shop where you will find unique items for your home décor such as cuckoo cocks and these are also available at very reasonable prices.

In the relatively small village of Triberg, it is estimated that by 1850 there were some 13,500 people engaged in some part of the manufacture of cuckoo clocks, working for over 600 different manufacturers, and all because Mr. Ketterer managed to duplicate the sound of a cuckoo bird!