The Bornholm grandfather clock is one of two types of grandfather clocks. As its name suggests, this watch comes from Bornholm, a Danish island found in the Baltic Sea, located to the east of Denmark, north of Poland and south of Sweden. Bornholm grandfather clocks are pendulum powered, manufactured from 1745 to 1900. Actually, prior to the creation, Bornholm was not known for lock manufacturing. In fact, the manufacture of this only began when a Dutch ship traveling from England ran aground off the coast of Ronne, in 1744. Incidentally, the ship contained five grandfather clocks, then known as long case clocks.
Watches back then were rare and important items, and sailors chose to keep the watches. And so, they were brought to Poul Ottesen Arboe, a famous turner in Rønne. Ronne is one of the villages found on the island of Bornholm, a former municipality in Denmark. Of all the towns found on Bornholm, it is the largest and is the municipal seat of the island.
Arboe, along with local craftsmen, repaired and restored the long-case English clocks. Of course, before the estrangement of English clocks, these artisans, most of them turners, were unaware of long-case or grandfather clocks. And so, before they could repair them, they had to study the clock mechanisms. During the time they spent repairing, they learned about the structure of long box cabinets. They also studied internal mechanisms and cast iron weights.
In fact, the artisans learned so much that they set out to make their own. This is how the famous Bornholm clocks were born. Clocks do more than tell time. They are fine additions to your home and have good aesthetic and practical benefits as well. But there’s more to these time-telling pieces than meets the eye.
