It was not until around 1870 (some fifty years after Hoffmann's "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" was written) that the first nutcracker in its now-familiar form was carved by Wilhelm Fuechtner (1844-1923) in his Seiffen workshop. Today, this legacy is continued by Volker Fuechtner, the great-great-grandson of Wilhelm and the sixth generation to run the family workshop in Seiffen. (For more about the Christmas folk art of the Erzgebirge, please visit our About Us page.)
For Christmas decorations that kids can really play with, be sure to visit our collection of Ostheimer Nativity figures!
