Nutcracker

The Nutcracker story was written by E.T.A. Hoffmann of Koenigsberg, Prussia. It was set to music by composer Tchaikovsky and has become the most popular ballet performed around Christmas time . It is appealing to children and adults alike and has been a standard yearly feature of theaters in many cities.

The story of "The Nutcracker and the Mouseking", has been published in many book versions including cute charming children's versions.

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A Nutcracker as a wood carving of a soldier, knight, king or other profession has been known at least since the 15th century. It is a carving of a person with a big mouth that is opened by pressing a lever in the back of the figurine. Originally you could insert a nut in the big-teethed mouth, press down and thereby crack the nut. Todays nutcrackers are mostly for decoration.

The carving of nutcrackers as well as religious figures and cribs? developed as a cottage industry in forested rural areas of Germany. The most famous nutcracker carvings come from Sonneberg, Thuringia, also a center of doll making, and from the Erzgebirge?. Wood carving was usually the only income for the people living there. Today their income is supplemented by the travel industry bringing visitors to the remote areas.

Nutcrackers have become popular in the US as well and a recreated "Bavarian village" of [Leavenworth, Washington State]? even features a Nutcracker Museum. Many other material were used for the decorator nutcrackers, such as porcelain, silver, and brass, and can be seen at the museum.

Carvings by famous names like Ulbricht, Jungbanel, Mertens, Karl, Kolbe,Petersen, Ulbricht and the most collected Steinbach nutcrackers have become collectors items.