DDR Kunstuhr mit Geschichte, welche die "Internationale" spielen kann - Sammler-Uhren

GDR art clock with history that can play the "Internationale"

Special art clock: A piece of GDR history

 
Playing the "Internationale" every hour: A special art clock is now on display at the German Clock Museum in Glashütte. Photos: Holm Helis

Playing the "Internationale" every hour: A special art clock is now on display at the German Clock Museum in Glashütte. Photos: Holm Helis

An impressive clock has been given a special exhibition at the German Clock Museum in Glashütte. The art clock, which plays the "Internationale," was a gift to the only president of the GDR, Wilhelm Pieck.

A new foyer exhibition has opened at the German Watch Museum in Glashütte. It features an impressive clock that hasn't been on public display for several decades.


Wilhelm Pieck, then President of the GDR, received the large clock on the occasion of his 80th birthday on January 3, 1956. The clock was commissioned by the GDR Council of Ministers with the cooperation of the Glashütte watchmaking company. According to a description from the time, the clock represents a "place of socialist construction." The time is displayed via number rings on a tower integrated into the artwork. When in operation, a musical mechanism plays the refrain of the working class's battle song, "The Internationale," every hour on the hour.


Die beiden SED-Größen Wilhelm Pieck (l.) und Otto Grotewohl bei der Präsentation der Kunstuhr 1956.
The two SED leaders Wilhelm Pieck (l.) and Otto Grotewohl at the presentation of the art clock in 1956.

The key players in the production of the clock were Leipzig master goldsmith Gerhard Fraundorf, who was responsible for its artistic and detailed design, and Hans-Georg Belger, who at the time worked as a designer at the VEB Glashütte watch factory. Based on a Type 9091 electrical timepiece from Glashütte, Belger converted the hands into a 24-hour display, integrated a day/night indicator, and constructed a control system for the musical mechanism. Belger acquired the skills for this engineering leadership during his studies at the Glashütte Technical School for Precision Mechanics and Watch Technology (later the Engineering School for Precision Engineering), where he was part of the first class of engineering students in 1951.

The new foyer exhibition is part of the upcoming special exhibition at the German Watch Museum Glashütte. Starting in summer 2022, it will focus on the engineers at the Glashütte School, their personal stories and life achievements, as well as the general profile of the engineering profession. From 1951 to 1992, the school was an important institution for engineering education in East Germany. Since 2008, the German Watch Museum Glashütte has been located in the former school building.

Wilhelm Pieck, who from April 1946 co-chaired the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) with Otto Grotewohl, served as the first and only president of the GDR from 1949 to 1960. The actual ruler of the GDR was Walter Ulbricht in his capacity as General Secretary, or First Secretary of the Central Committee of the SED. After Pieck's death, the office of president was abolished and replaced by the "State Council of the GDR," a collective form of head of state.

Source: Ulrich Voss / Blickpunkt Uhren

Back to blog

Leave a comment