Seiffen is a town in the district of

Erzgebirgskreis Erzgebirgskreis is a district ('' Kreis'') in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is named after the Ore Mountains (German: ''Erzgebirge''), a mountain range in the southern part of the district which forms part of the Germany–Czech Republi ...

in the central south of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Seiffen nestles in the heart of the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

, which are famous for many

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

traditions. As the silver and tin deposits declined, former miners had to look for new ways to feed their families. In addition to lace making and weaving, the local population turned to wood carving.

Nutcracker A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells. A decorative version, a nutcracker doll ...

s, "smoking men",

Christmas pyramids Christmas pyramids () are Christmas decorations that have their roots in the folklore and customs of the Ore Mountain region of Germany, but which have become popular internationally. They comprise a decorated pyramidal outer frame with candle h ...

(carousels with figures of the Christmas story or from mining) and ''

Schwibbögen A ''Schwibbogen'' () is a decorative candle-holder from the Ore Mountains region of Saxony, Germany. The first metal ''schwibbogen'' was made in 1740 in Johanngeorgenstadt. The early candle arches consisted of a single forged piece of black m ...

'' (wooden candle arches, displayed in windows, symbolising the opening of a mine) are some of many Christmas goods made in the Ore Mountains. Seiffen is a centre of the wooden toy industry.

History

The history of Seiffen started when miners opened up the district 700 years ago. The earliest record of the town dates to 1324 when it was referred to as "Cynsifen". With the recession of ore mining in the area, Seiffen turned to wooden toy manufacture as a matter of economic survival. In 1699, Seiffen resident Johann Friedrich Hiemann took Seiffen toys to market at

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

. Nuremberg was a toy distribution market for much of Europe at that time. Seiffen was able to break into this large toy market thanks to two factors. First, the low cost of living and economic depression in the Ore Mountains allowed prices much lower than the rest of European toy manufacturers selling at the Nuremberg market. Second, the high quality of toys being produced in Seiffen.

Technological developments

A major new line in toy manufacturing, which began in the Ore Mountains, was the production of wooden toys on wood lathes using a method known as '' Reifendrehen''. This method, usually used for making wooden animals, allowed for greater accuracy and quality in much less time than it took to hand carve the entire piece. In 1890, an export tax was changed from being based on value, to weight. This meant that wooden toys were now much more expensive to buy anywhere but the German state of Saxony. Undaunted, the Seiffen toy makers developed the Miniature in a Matchbox. This ornament sized toy was very small, so it could be exported cheaply. It also used many parts and is very detailed. The Ore Mountain Toy Museum is an internationally known

toy museum A toy museum is a museum for toys. They typically showcase toys from a particular culture or period with their history. These are distinct from children's museums, which are museums for children, and are often interactive – toy museums may be ...

that displays a large collection of typical Ore Mountain wooden toys and similar items.

Notable people

* Auguste Müller (1847–1930), carver

Gallery

Die Bergkirche zu Seiffen im Erzgebirge.jpg, Seiffen Church Seiffen (01) 2005-05.jpg, Panorama Seiffen Museum (01) 2006-11-30.jpg, Toy museum Seiffen (06) 2006-11-30.jpg, Typical house

References

External links