3rd Quarter Newsletter 2022

for the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

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LEARNING ABOUT THE ERZGEBIRGE NUTCRACKERS

Learning about  the German nutcrackers and their makers is essential in the training the next ‘Nutcracker Lady’, so I took Michelle McMullen on a trip to  Germany to see all that is involved in the making of a nutcracker.  We first  visited the Christian Ulbricht workshop, the favorite of maker of American collectors, and  watched every phase of creating  a nutcracker from the first cutting of the wood to the final packaging for shipment.  We were impressed with quality of their products and the attention given to even the tiniest detail on each design.

     

The next stop was a visit to the Füchtner workshops in Seiffen, to meet with the current Nutcracker King’, Markus, 6th generation of nutcracker makers who have continued to work in the same workshop.  He follows in the footsteps of Wilhelm Füchtner who was named ‘Father of the Nutcrackers’ in 1872 as his body design and proportions were used by most German makers.  Still to this day Füchtner nutcrackers are considered to be the truest Erzgebirge style.

 

After that we visted many nutcracker workshops, varying from those in private homes  to large commercial spaces-- Heidenreich, Bilz, Glasser, Ullrich, Legler, Seiffener Volkskunst,  and Seiffener Nussknackerhaus.   We also watched highly skilled men working on their lathes to create the famous ring animals, and saw the delicate curled and feathered trees being made.

  

We visited the Erzgebirgischen Spielzeugmuseums in Seiffen and met with the curator, Professor Konrad Auerbach and studied his featured displays of antique Ender and Vero nutcrackers.

  

We were  welcomed by the Löchner family of the Erstes Nussknackermuseum Europa in Neuhausen and spent many hours with them learning more about their museum and exchanging ideas for the two museums.  Together the two museums show a staggering total of more than 15,000 nutcrackers.

And of course we shopped in Seiffen, a tourist town whose shops are filled with myriads of delightful pieces of Erzgebirge folk art. 

Arlene Wagner, The Nutcracker Lady Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum Email: curator@nutcrackermuseum.com