Clockmaking in Gernrode in the Harz region began in 1948, when Dietrich Linke founded a clockmaking business there. In 1954, it became Dietrich Linke KG. Around 1970, the company was nationalised and renamed VEB Harzer Uhren Gernrode, becoming part of the Feinmechanische Werke Halle combine. Alongside other clocks, cuckoo clocks were made in Gernrode from the 1970s onwards. Several businesses cooperated in their production: movement components came from Quedlinburg and Halberstadt, among other places, while some woodcarvings were produced by people working from home. Modernisation increased annual output from 54,000 clocks in 1981 to around 91,000 by the late 1980s. After German reunification, the company was privatised in 1990. Production of its own movements ceased, and movements were instead sourced from the Black Forest. In return, Gernrode supplied hand-carved decorations and components for cuckoo clocks to other manufacturers. The company filed for insolvency in 2009 and was subsequently taken over by Carl Grüttert of Hanover. Following further changes and the closure of the demonstration workshop in 2014, efforts to revive Gernrode's clockmaking tradition began in 2016. Cuckoo clocks were once again produced on a small scale, and historical clocks were repaired.