Caroline Heinecke | Conceptual Fine Art Photography

Caroline Heinecke

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Back to Herr der Dinge / Master of Things

DDR Betriebsuhren / GDR Company Clocks

Willkommen zu einer Reise durch Zeit im Raum. Die Bühne bildet das beschauliche Olbersdorf, eine sächsische Gemeinde im Landkreis Görlitz. Hier leitet Frank Ochmann seit 1994 sein persönliches Ballett aus mittlerweile 500 Uhren, das sich kontinuierlich im Gleichtakt und im Uhrzeigersinn für ihn und seine Besucher dreht. Das Ensemble ist international aufgestellt. Es umfasst die weltgrößte Sammlung von Betriebsuhren aus DDR-Fertigung sowie Uhren aus Frankreich, England, Tschechien und der Schweiz. Trotz gelegentlicher Unstimmigkeiten ticken sie doch alle sehr ähnlich. 

Herzstück und zugleich Lieblingsobjekt des Besitzers ist die große „Uhrenzentrale“. Sie nimmt ihm auch die meisten Handgriffe ab, z. B. die Umstellung von Sommer- auf Winterzeit. Dennoch bringt der Sammler jeden Sonntag nach dem Frühstück all seine Uhren persönlich in einen gemeinsamen Takt, und das kann sich bis in den Nachmittag ziehen.   

Frank Ochmann, ehemaliger Finanzchef eines Abbruchunternehmens, begann seine Sammelkarriere, als viele Betriebe Mitte der neunziger Jahre aufhörten zu existieren. Spontan und reflexartig bewahrte er die Uhren des eigenen Unternehmens vor ihrer endgültigen Stilllegung. Nach und nach rettete er immer mehr Uhren aus ganz unterschiedlichen Betrieben, und so wuchs die Zahl zusehends.

Kurze Zeit später lernte er Werner Goldberg kennen, der ein absoluter Fachmann für Elektromechanik ist und, wie sich herausstellte, im Nachbarort wohnt. Ohne diesen passionierten Mitstreiter hätte die Sammlung niemals eine solche Dimension erreichen können. Hinzu kommt der glückliche Zustand, dass Ochmann mit seiner äußerst toleranten Frau in einem großen Bauernhaus wohnt, welches selbst eine komplette Fassade für eine mächtige Betriebsuhr bereitstellt und kilometerweit die Zeit anzeigt. Auch wenn seine mechanischen Uhren aufgrund von Temperatur, Luftdruck und -feuchtigkeit niemals auf die Sekunde genau gehen, so stört ihn lediglich eins: wenn sie verstummen. Aber das ist in mittlerweile über 236.520 Stunden Betriebsamkeit noch nie vorgekommen. 

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Welcome to a journey through a space full of time. The stage is set in the tranquil town of Olbersdorf, a borough in Saxony lying in the district of

Görlitz. Since 1994, Frank Ochmann has been the man behind his own personal ballet of 500 clocks, whose hands continuously rotate clockwise and in unison for both him and his visitors. The ensemble is truly international. It comprises the world's largest collection of company clocks, and includes both items manufactured in the former GDR and clocks from France, England, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Occasional disagreements aside, they usually all tick to the same beat.

The centerpiece and and the owner's favourite item is the large "clock headquarters". It also takes on most of the work for him, such as switching from summer to winter time. Nevertheless, every Sunday after breakfast, the collector personally sets all his clocks to a common time, a task that can take well into the afternoon.

Frank Ochmann, the former head of finance at a demolition company, began his collecting career at a time when many companies were winding up in the mid-1990s. Spontaneously and instinctively, he saved his own company's clocks from being permanently decommissioned. He then gradually rescued more and more clocks from a wide range of companies and the number of pieces in his collection grew considerably.

A short time later, he met Werner Goldberg, a veritable expert in electromechanics and who, as it turned out, lived in the neighbouring town. Without the assistance of this passionate fellow campaigner, the collection would never have been able to reach the size it has. What’s more, Ochmann is also lucky enough to live with his extremely tolerant wife in a large farmhouse, which itself provides the perfect backdrop for a mighty company clock that displays the time for miles around. Despite temperature, air pressure and humidity hindering all of his mechanical clocks from always being accurate to the second, there is only one thing that bothers him - the idea of them going silent. That said, in over 236,520 hours of operation, this is something that is yet to occur.


A large clock face drawn on the side of a tall white building under a purple sky, next to a large pine tree.
A blue-green wall clock with gold accents hangs on patterned wallpaper next to a red curtain, with a patterned cloth on a surface below.
An antique green and gold wall clock hangs above brown curtains tied back over a window with a wooden grid.
A white lace curtain, a brown wooden chair, and a pink and gold clock are visible through soft lighting.
A metal compass-rose style clock hangs on a wood-paneled wall next to a sheer white lace curtain and plant.
A wooden folding screen with frosted glass panels partially conceals a wall adorned with various analog clocks.
A hallway lined with various clocks on the walls and inside tall wooden casings, with an open wooden door on the left showing a digital clock display.
A clothes drying rack with clothes on a tiled balcony next to a large clock overlooking a valley on a cloudy day.
A deconstructed clock with its inner mechanism exposed leans against a wall, while another clock and loose wires sit nearby.
A close-up shot of a round, wooden, mid-century modern wall clock with golden numbers and hands.
A modern silver-faced clock with black hands and hour markers set into a wooden panel.
A black, round clock with a cream face, red hour markers, and two red and gold hands.
A close up of a white and black modern wall clock with a second hand.
A large white clock face with bold black hour markers and hands is mounted on a textured wall, surrounded by wooden panels and pipes.
A wall clock with no numbers but an ornate brown, gold, and black border and black hands, hangs above several potted cactuses.
A modern gold wall clock with black hour markers and hands, sitting on a wooden surface.
A large, round, dark green clock with bold yellow hands and hour markers hangs on a wooden wall.
A wall in a workshop covered in a variety of clocks, with an electrical panel on the left and a chair in the foreground.
A large clock face drawn on the side of a tall white building under a purple sky, next to a large pine tree.
A blue-green wall clock with gold accents hangs on patterned wallpaper next to a red curtain, with a patterned cloth on a surface below.
An antique green and gold wall clock hangs above brown curtains tied back over a window with a wooden grid.
A white lace curtain, a brown wooden chair, and a pink and gold clock are visible through soft lighting.
A metal compass-rose style clock hangs on a wood-paneled wall next to a sheer white lace curtain and plant.
A wooden folding screen with frosted glass panels partially conceals a wall adorned with various analog clocks.
A hallway lined with various clocks on the walls and inside tall wooden casings, with an open wooden door on the left showing a digital clock display.
A clothes drying rack with clothes on a tiled balcony next to a large clock overlooking a valley on a cloudy day.
A deconstructed clock with its inner mechanism exposed leans against a wall, while another clock and loose wires sit nearby.
A close-up shot of a round, wooden, mid-century modern wall clock with golden numbers and hands.
A modern silver-faced clock with black hands and hour markers set into a wooden panel.
A black, round clock with a cream face, red hour markers, and two red and gold hands.
A close up of a white and black modern wall clock with a second hand.
A large white clock face with bold black hour markers and hands is mounted on a textured wall, surrounded by wooden panels and pipes.
A wall clock with no numbers but an ornate brown, gold, and black border and black hands, hangs above several potted cactuses.
A modern gold wall clock with black hour markers and hands, sitting on a wooden surface.
A large, round, dark green clock with bold yellow hands and hour markers hangs on a wooden wall.
A wall in a workshop covered in a variety of clocks, with an electrical panel on the left and a chair in the foreground.