Drosselmeiers.com



Located on Saxony's border 

with the Czech Republic, 

on the northern edge of 

what used to be known as 

Bohemia, the Erz Mountains 

(or Erzgebirge) were once 

rich in silver and tin 

ore. Generations of miners 

toiled in the mines by day 

and crafted wooden figures 

by night. Entire families 

would help assemble and 

paint these creations, 

which often reflected 

mining and village life. 

 

Then the mines closed in 

the mid-19th century, the 

miners became full-time 

craftsmen, making not only 

Christmas decorations, but 

a wide range of wooden 

toys and miniatures. 

Today, many of these 

family workshops are in 

their fourth, fifth, and 

even sixth generation of 

ownership. Some families 

continue to produce 

figures and wares that are 

specifically theirs, 

refined over generations.

 

Others are developing new 

designs unique to their 

workshops. All continue 

the charming traditions of 

the Erz Mountains. 

Drosselmeier's is proud to 

offer only genuine 

articles from the Erz 

Mountains, which we call 

the Land of the 

Nutcrackers. More than 

just decoration, these 

items are made to the 

highest standards of 

craftsmanship and embody 

the traditions of a 

paticular place and 

people. They are heirlooms 

your family will treasure 

for many years to come. 



 

To step into the Füchtner 

family workshop is to step 

into a piece of Christmas 

history: It was here in 

this same house that the 

classic nutcracker was 

born.

The Füchtners trace their 

woodcrafting roots to 

Gotthelf Friedrich 

Füchtner, who began 

selling his handmade 

figures at the Dresden 

Christmas market in 1786. 

As the family tells 

it, “Our ancestors were 

carpenters. In summer they 

built houses, in winter 

they were unemployed. They 

turned to their carving 

knives and lathes to 

provide for their 

families.”



In 1870, Wilhelm Füchtner, 

Gotthelf’s grandson, 

created uniformed 

nutcrackers out of spruce. 

He has come to be known 

as “the Father of the 

Nutcracker.” The exact 

relationship of the 

nutcrackers fashioned in 

the Erz Mountains to the 

nutcracker of the E.T.A. 

Hoffmann story is 

complicated—the story on 

which the ballet is based 

was written in 1816. (The 

ballet was composed in the 

1890’s.) Hellmut Bilz’s 

discussion in his 

book “Popular Arts and 

Crafts of the Erzgebirge 

Mountains,” also offered 

by Drosselmeier’s, is 

a “must read” for 

nutcracker collectors