10.1

Synchronous Clocks – “Normal-Zeit GmbH”

A common time system plays a crucial role for transport and the exchange of data and goods. From 1895 on, the company “Normal-Zeit GmbH“ made sure that the public clocks in Berlin and beyond showed the exact time.

The entity responsible for keeping the exact time was the Berlin Royal Observatory, from where the master clock at the Berlin headquarters of “Normal-Zeit GmbH” was synchronized precisely to the second.

This master clock controlled a series of secondary clocks, the so-called central clocks. The latter, in turn, controlled hundreds of public clocks each. Possible faults were registered on control strips so they could be fixed precisely.

“Normal-Zeit GmbH” in Berlin spread the exact time all over Germany via telegraph lines running along the railway tracks. Changing its name to “Telefonbau und Normalzeit“, the company would become one of the leading manufacturers of large clock systems later on.