Christmas Pyramids and Easter Pyramids

Christmas pyramids and easter pyramids

Christmas pyramids are definitely the most fantastic wooden items from the German Erzgebirge. Anyone who as ever owned a Christmas pyramid will not want to miss it anymore. The warm light and the pleasing movements create a unique festive atmosphere in every living room. When the tiers and the impeller slowly turn they perform an enchanting play of light and shadow.

Christmas pyramids are very traditional handcrafts and are deeply rooted with German Christmas customs. Their history goes all the way back to the 16th century. Some people even say that Christmas pyramids have been the forerunner of Christmas trees in Europe.

In the Erzgebirge the miners started to craft the first wooden pyramids in the 18th century. At the beginning the skilled miners just tied several wooden sticks together at the top and placed candles below them. The pyramid was called "light rack". There were no movements on those first Christmas pyramids, but they were added short time later. The miners always tried to advance their pyramids and looked for more perfection. They put a wooden rod in the middle of the wooden sticks and fastened a dish to the rod.
The dish was able to turn and when they later added an impeller the rising candle heat turned the impeller. The first turning Christmas pyramid was born. On the dish the miners placed beautiful wooden hand carved figurines.

Today Erzgebirge Christmas pyramids are available in hundreds of different styles. Most of them display religious scenes. Others show scenes of everyday life or nature. The size of pyramids varies from 10 inches to 60 inches. The number of tiers goes from 1 to 6. The price is strongly (but not only) influenced by the size because most of the parts are handmade. Particularly the carved figurines drastically increase in price with larger sizes. Christmas Pyramids are also available with electrical motors that turn the tiers. Most of the electric motors run on 220/230 Volt which is the European standard but some manufacturers also offer 110 Volt Christmas pyramids. But 220 Volt or 230 Volt motor can also be used in the USA. All you need is a converter that converts 110 Volt to 220/230 Volt. They are relatively easy to get and your local electric store surely can help you.

The most famous workshops are Mueller Kleinkunst, KWO Olbernhau and Richard Glaesser. When you buy a pyramid made by one of those workshops you can be sure that you will receive an item of highest German quality which was handmade in the Erzgebirge. Every workshop has it's specific design elements. Mueller Kleinkunst has specialized in Christmas pyramids and has won several design awards.

A century long tradition makes the Erzgebirge Christmas pyramid an extraordinary jewel and a great gift for everyone and every occasion.