530 Years of Craftsmanship
The History of the Bürk Family
Clock History in Black Forest
Several hundred years ago, the clock-making industry began in the Black Forest. Parts for Black Forest clocks were made on almost every farm. On one homestead they made cases (the so-called rack makers), again another farm family took care of the production of clock plates and on the next farm the movements were made or assembled. In this way, everyone formed their own independent craft.
Over the centuries, the craft developed. As a result, a perfectionist production of clock parts, clock movements and complete clocks developed in the Black Forest, with today’s main centre Villingen-Schwenningen, which promoted the industrialisation of clock making.
Johannes Bürk – my great-great-grandfather – the initiator laid the foundation for industrialised clock manufacturing with the founding of the Württemberg clock factory Bürk Söhne in Schwenningen am Neckar in 1855.
For over a century, he, his son and their descendants helped shape the history of the town, which for decades rose to become the “largest watchmaking town in the world” because of the number and importance of its watchmaking factories. Virtually every employee worked in the watch industry. During this time, the city gained international importance.
