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STEINBACH NUTCRACKER WOODWORKS

October 19, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Hohenhameln & Marienberg, Germany

Nutcracker Collectioni (nutcrackermania.com)

Nutcracker Collectioni (nutcrackermania.com)

To children of all ages, Christmas is the time of year for the giving and receiving of toys; and no toy is as evocative of this magic season as the Nutcracker doll.  Created by innovative woodcarvers in the rich forestlands of Central Germany, Nutcracker dolls have been around at least as far back as the 16th century, possibly even earlier.  Designed to look like fanciful soldiers, kings, public figures and so forth, Nutcracker dolls became extremely popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, and soon became a regular favorite at Christmas markets.

By the 1800s, the city of Sonneberg was the definitive center for the manufacturing of Nutcracker dolls.  Its proximity to Lauscha, where the first Christmas ornaments were made, as well as the city of Nuremberg, helped to make that city’s Christkindelsmarkt one of the largest and most popular Christmas markets in Germany.  In 1816, E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote his children’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, which popularized Nutcracker dolls even further and permanently immortalized them as a fixture of the Christmas season.

Christian Steinbach (simplysteinbach.com)

Christian Steinbach (simplysteinbach.com)

The business of making Nutcracker dolls is closely tied to the Steinbachs, an ancient family of artists and craftsman who had relocated to Germany from Austria during the turbulent 1600s.  Around the turn of the 18th century, the Steinbachs began making the wooden dolls that eventually became the industry standard.  In the late 1800s, they created the first limited edition Nutcracker doll based on Bavaria’s King Ludwig II.  The Steinbach’s would later help popularize Nutcracker dolls in the United States after World War II.  After nearly three centuries, the Steinbach’s are still in business, and gladly welcome visitors to their workshops.

The Steinbachs maintain two Nutcracker factories in Germany.  The larger one is in Hohenhameln, a small village 20 miles southeast of Hannover and 150 miles west of Berlin.  The smaller one can be found in the village of Gebirge outside of Marienberg, in the traditional Nutcracker-making region of the Ore Mountains, about 100 miles south of Berlin.  Both locations are open to visitors, presumably during normal working hours.  There is no cost of admission.  Web: www.magicofnutcrackers.com (official website of the Steinbach company)

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: Germany

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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