Exclusive & Victorian
In the middle of the 19th century, glass decorations for Christmas trees were invented in Lauscha, just a few kilometers from our Christmas station in Sitzendorf. And because the Thuringian glassblowers knew a lot about their craft, the shapes became more and more sophisticated. Originally, the glassblowers only made shiny balls or brightly painted figures such as apples or nuts. As demand increased, so did the wealth of ideas. The Christmas tree decorations in the glass factories of the Thuringian Forest became more and more elaborate. From today's perspective, these are beautiful, nostalgic tree decorations. You can find a wide range of these here in the online shop.
The Victorian era shaped the style of that time
The invention of glass Christmas balls occurred in the middle of the so-called Victorian era, which is the period of the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. At the end of the 19th century, Art Nouveau also adopted some elements from the Victorian era.
In art, the Victorian era brought a departure from the strict simplicity of classicism. Opulent shapes and colors as well as elaborate decorations became fashionable. This affected not only clothing, painting and sculpture, but also the design of Christmas tree decorations. Even the royal family's Christmas tree in London had hand-blown antique tree decorations hanging at Christmas. We don't know for sure whether these came from Thuringia, but it is likely.
Why? It's simple: Queen Victoria comes from the German ducal house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and visited her old homeland of Thuringia several times during her life. The home of the Thuringian glassblowers around Lauscha and Sitzendorf lies exactly halfway between the royal hometowns of Coburg and Gotha.
Pure nostalgia at the Christmas tree
In the glass factory at the Sitzendorf Christmas station, our experienced glassblowers have long mastered the art of decoration in the Victorian style. Intricate shapes of figures, reflective balls and Christmas tree toppers are created by hand in the style of that era. The elaborate decorations in particular make these Christmas tree decorations particularly attractive.
The decorations of Victorian Christmas tree decorations
Special materials and design elements characterize the nostalgic Christmas tree decorations. Then as now, the tree topper, the reflex ball or another freely formed fantasy figure is often decorated with a wafer . However, you cannot eat these wafers. Instead, they are die-cut glossy images made of reinforced paper. In addition to the antique four-color printing, parts of the image are decorated with embossing or gold leaf. Popular motifs are angels, the Christ Child or Santa Claus.
Another design element is Leonian wires, which are used to decorate and connect several parts. The manufacturing process for Leonian wires was brought to Germany by Huguenots who had immigrated from Lyon. This is where the name "Leonian wires" comes from. They are silver-plated or gold-plated copper wires that are wound around the Christmas tree bauble or the figures like a web.
In addition, cantilevers are used. A cantilever is a thin wire that is wound around a rod. The wire is then pulled off the rod. This gives it a permanent spiral shape.