Kaspar Brunner (died 1561) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and ...

best known for his construction of the

clockwork Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical devices called clocks and watches (where it is also called the movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a series of gears driven by a spring or weight. A clockwork mec ...

of the

Zytglogge The Zytglogge (Bernese German: ; ) is a landmark medieval tower in Bern, Switzerland. Built in the early 13th century, it has served the city as guard tower, prison, clock tower, centre of urban life and civic memorial. Despite the many redec ...

, Bern's medieval clock-tower, in 1527–1530. Of unknown origins, Brunner is first recorded in 1526 on the occasion of being appointed ''zitgloggenrichter'', or

timekeeper A timekeeper is an instrument or person that measures the passage of time. Person A timekeeper is a person who measures time with the assistance of a clock or a stopwatch. In addition, a timekeeper records time, time taken, or time remaining duri ...

of the Zytglogge. After the previous clockwork broke down beyond repair, the city council commissioned Brunner in 1527 to build a new one for the sum of 1.000 '' gulden''. In the following three years, Brunner built the massive mechanism that continues to operate the tower's

astronomical clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...

to this day. After the successful installation of his clockwork, Brunner appears to have risen fast in Bernese society. He was admitted into the ''Gesellschaft zu Schmieden'', the blacksmiths' guild, in 1530, thus fulfilling the prerequisite for holding public office. He was elected '' Büchsenmeister'' or arsenal chief in 1537 and married a patrician's daughter, Anna von Graffenried, in 1541. In the same year, he was called to

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, then the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

's largest city, where he headed the urban arsenal until his death in 1561. As far as we know, Brunner never built another clockwork. Having worked as locksmith,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

and

clockmaker A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to ...

at various times during his life, Brunner is a characteristic representative of the type of mostly self-taught engineers that emerged at the threshold of the early modern period in Europe and who built most late medieval clockworks. It was not until the second half of the 16th century that

watchmaking A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...

came to be regarded as a distinct profession.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Kaspar Swiss engineers Swiss clockmakers People from Bern 1561 deaths Year of birth unknown