{"id":24154,"date":"2023-07-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromplacetoplace.travel\/?p=24154"},"modified":"2023-07-05T10:00:10","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T08:00:10","slug":"garden-gnomes-from-thuringia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromplacetoplace.travel\/germany\/thuringia\/thuringian-forest\/garden-gnomes-from-thuringia\/","title":{"rendered":"Garden gnomes are intangible UNESCO heritage?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The garden gnome is on the UNESCO list, who would have thought it. Yet this figure divides garden owners to this day. Some hate the little men and can’t imagine anything worse in their garden. Others love the gnome and can’t get enough of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

It is hard to believe, according to estimates, today there are about 25 million garden gnomes in German gardens alone. Garden gnomes from Thuringia are certainly among them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gartenzwerge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But where does the garden gnome come from anyway?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stories about dwarves can already be found in ancient mythologies, sagas and fairy tales (for example, in Grimm’s Fairy Tales). Later, people of small stature were often found as so-called court dwarfs for the amusement of the nobility at court. People were always preoccupied with the otherness of smaller people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it is not surprising that these then also found their way into artistic areas. In Mirabell Palace in Salzburg, for example, a dwarf garden with 28 marble sculptures was created around 1690. In the Baroque era, some dwarfs decorated the gardens in Austria, Germany or the Czech Republic. Of many thousands of individually made garden gnomes, unfortunately, only a few have survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Blick<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Around 1800, the figures fell into disrepute and disappeared from the gardens of the nobility. However, they now moved into the gardens of middle-class families. What I did not know until now, even the porcelain manufactory Meissen<\/a> made the figures for the gardens of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garden gnomes from Thuringia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Thuringia terracotta garden gnome manufactories arose, which additionally created animal heads and small statues. These found their place, for example, in hunting lodges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Gr\u00e4fenroda, today’s gnome town, two companies were founded in 1872, which specialized in the production of the figures and later even set up mass and serial productions for garden gnomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gartenzwerg<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of these companies belonged to Philipp Griebel, but more about that later\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1898, at the Leipzig Fair, suppliers offered garden gnomes from Thuringia for the first time. Quickly a great interest developed in the typical German garden ornament. Sales then collapsed during the world wars and later the figure in the garden was often the symbol of bourgeois bourgeoisie. Especially in the 1960s, the garden gnome was a sign of bad taste and labeled as kitsch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the typical garden gnome look like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Originally, the dwarf manufacturers made the figures from marble, sandstone or baked clay. Today there is also the somewhat cheaper variant made of plastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gartenzwerge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Visually, the figure is modeled on gardeners or even the medieval miners. Besides the leather apron, they usually wear a red pointed cap and carry a shovel, pickaxe or a lantern. Some also push a wheelbarrow or hold a watering can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebirth of the garden gnomes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Around 1990, interest in the garden gnome resumed. However, people were less looking for the standardized model, they wanted provocative figures. For example, figures were created that resembled politicians or gnomes that stood naked in the garden. Fans around the world took a liking to the “new” garden gnome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"lesender<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To this day, the interest in the unusual garden gnome is great. Unfortunately, this has also led to the production of plagiarism. These are often made of cheap plaster or cast resin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit to a garden gnome manufactory in Gr\u00e4fenroda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The garden gnome manufactory Philipp Griebel is still located in Gr\u00e4fenroda. Since 1880, they have been producing a wide variety of garden gnomes in a manufactory here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I step through the large gate into the courtyard of the manufactory, I don’t know exactly where to look first. There are garden gnomes everywhere, small and large gnomes, traditional and modern designs, and gnome eyes are looking at you from everywhere. I have never seen anything like this before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gartenzwerge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a small museum, I was able to learn about the history of garden gnomes through a wide variety of exhibits. The museum is located in some rooms above the workshops and is just as crowded as the courtyard. Besides the gnomes, there are also animal figures and fairy tale characters in the narrow rooms. About 400 exhibits show the diversity of the production of terracotta figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Origin of the garden gnome<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Afterwards, I was able to take a look at the production of the figures. The “Zwergstatt Gr\u00e4fenroda” is today not only a production site, but also a glass factory. Here you can watch at work and thus get to know the production steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found it very exciting that the factory has a huge collection of molds. Some of these are 150 years old and so it is still possible to produce the garden gnomes of yesteryear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gartenzwerge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The hand-mixed clay is poured into these molds, allowed to harden, and then the mold is removed. After some cosmetic corrections (removing casting seams) and gluing individual parts that can not be cast, the figure is fired in the kiln. This makes it water and frost resistant. Only when it has cooled down completely does the blank return to the workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There, the figures are then painted by hand. This is how unique pieces are created, which makes each copy unmistakable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Produktionsschritte<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I was in the workshop, they made there just not the usual garden gnome, but a special production for Berlin fans of the soccer club FC Union. The cult figure of the GDR Sandman Pittiplatsch in the jersey of the club! I saw everywhere only Pittiplatsch \u2026 which I really loved as a child! So I was very tempted to take a “Pittiplatsch” for the garden in the small local store. Unfortunately, the transport on the train is not so easy. But luckily you can also shop online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pittiplatsch<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The process in which garden gnomes from Thuringia are produced is unique in the world and so UNESCO has decided to declare the production an intangible cultural asset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Address:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Zwergstatt
Philipp Griebel
Zum Wolfstal 1,
99330 Geratal, Deutschland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening hours:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday – Saturday: 10-16 h
Sunday and Monday closed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pittiplatsch<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The visit to the Gartenzwerg Manufaktur was an item on the agenda of a press trip with Th\u00fcringer Tourismus GmbH.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The garden gnome is on the UNESCO list, who would have thought it. Yet this figure divides garden owners to this day. Some hate the little men and can’t imagine anything worse in their garden. Others love the gnome and can’t get enough of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[417],"tags":[413],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGarden gnomes from Thuringia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Visit to a garden gnome manufactory in Thuringia. View of the production. 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