Koo Koo Clocks, Part I

The History of the Koo-Koo Clock

Part I

"There's a sad sort of ringing from the clock in the hall
and the bell in the steeple too.
And up in the nursery an absurd little bird
is popping out to say...
koo koo."

These haunting opening lines from the world-famous song, "So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodnight" were first brought to America by the Von Trapp family as they fled Australia in World War II. While the tune was catchy and became a popular wartime hit, many Americans were left scratching their heads and asking, "What kind of bird goes 'Koo koo'?"

In these post-war days, many tourists have flocked to Germany to see what remains of the once-proud home of chocolates, goat-cheese, and Heidi. And upon their return, most of them bring a hand-crafted koo-koo clock.

A koo-koo clock is a simple device. It is a clock made of wood and when the time is just right, a koo-koo bird pops out and, as the song says, goes koo koo.

But why koo-koo clocks? In a country of such a proud heritage, why did Germany decide to put so much into marketing these timepieces, when many Americans have moved on to digital, satellite-powered wristwatches?

Perhaps the answer lies in the history of the koo-koo clock.

The koo-koo clock's origins date back to the Middle Ages when many heretics were being burned at the stake. Legend has it that Saint Bernard, the patron saint of dogs, would announce the death of a heretic by shaking a birdcage full of birds, thus causing them to go "koo koo" and sending a clear message of warning to the rabble in the streets below.

The sound of these "koo-koo" birds became so synonymus with "warning" and "danger" that it wasn't long before people fitted their carriages with birdcages. Whenever anybody tried to steal a carriage, the birds would make their famous sound, which alerted everyone nearby that a theft was occuring. Indeed, it can be said that the koo-koo clock was the precurser to today's useful car alarm, a device which successfully thwarts theives by making loud noises for all the world to hear, particularly during thunderstorms when loud crashes of thunder create a sound vaccuum for the thief to operate under without fear of detection.

But why was this sound, the sound of warning and destruction, applied to a clock?

The truth can be found in an old wives' tale about an Italian woman named Babriella.

continued...