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Candle Arches
A ''schwibbogen'' (, from Middle High German ', "to hover") is a decorative candle-holder from the Ore Mountains (''Erzgebirge'') region of Saxony, Germany. The first metal ''schwibbogen'' was made in 1740 in Johanngeorgenstadt. The early candle arches consisted of a single forged piece of black metal which could be painted. The number of candles varies with the size of the arc, the original design holding eleven. In the UK candle arches or candle bridges are marketed, often just consisting of a simple wooden stepped arch with 7 electric candles. These are not strictly ''schwibbögen''. Background The development of the ''schwibbogen'' arch is closely related to the mining traditions of the ore mountains. It most likely developed as a candle holder made from metal for the Christmas shift (''Mettenschicht''), a common dinner celebrated by miners, the mining foreman ('' Steiger'') and the smith who had been responsible for the mining tools throughout the year. It bears symbols co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schwibbogen
A ''schwibbogen'' (, from Middle High German ', "to hover") is a decorative candle-holder from the Ore Mountains (''Erzgebirge'') region of Saxony, Germany. The first metal ''schwibbogen'' was made in 1740 in Johanngeorgenstadt. The early candle arches consisted of a single forged piece of black metal which could be painted. The number of candles varies with the size of the arc, the original design holding eleven. In the UK candle arches or candle bridges are marketed, often just consisting of a simple wooden stepped arch with 7 electric candles. These are not strictly ''schwibbögen''. Background The development of the ''schwibbogen'' arch is closely related to the mining traditions of the ore mountains. It most likely developed as a candle holder made from metal for the Christmas shift (''Mettenschicht''), a common dinner celebrated by miners, the mining foreman ('' Steiger'') and the smith who had been responsible for the mining tools throughout the year. It bears symbols co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobbin Lace
Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually determined by a pattern or pricking pinned on the pillow. Bobbin lace is also known as pillow lace, because it was worked on a pillow, and bone lace, because early bobbins were made of bone or ivory. Bobbin lace is one of the two major categories of handmade laces, the other being needle lace, derived from earlier cutwork and reticella. Origin A will of 1493 by the Milanese Sforza family mentions lace created with twelve bobbins. There are two books that represent the early known pattern descriptions for bobbin lace, ''Le Pompe'' from Venice and ''Nüw Modelbuch'' from Zürich. Bobbin lace evolved from passementerie or braid-making in 16th-century Italy. Genoa was famous for its braids, hence it is not surprising to find bobbin lace de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Decorations
A Christmas decoration is any of several types of ornamentation used at Christmastide and the greater holiday season. The traditional colors of Christmas are pine green (evergreen), snow white, and heart red. Gold and silver are also very common, as are other metallic colours. Typical images on Christmas decorations include Baby Jesus, Father Christmas, Santa Claus, and the star of Bethlehem. In many countries, such as Sweden, people start to set up their Advent and Christmas decorations on the first day of Advent. Liturgically, this is done in some parishes through a Hanging of the Greens ceremony. In the Western Christian world, the two traditional days when Christmas decorations are removed are Twelfth Night and if they are not taken down on that day, Candlemas, the latter of which ends the Christmas-Epiphany season in some denominations. Taking down Christmas decorations before Twelfth Night, as well as leaving the decorations up beyond Candlemas, is historicall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas In Germany
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season organized around it. The traditional Christmas narrative recounted in the New Testament, known as the Nativity of Jesus, says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies. When Joseph and Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were offered a manger, stable where the Christ Child was soon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wooden Toymaking In The Ore Mountains
The history of wooden toymaking in the Ore Mountains is closely bound to regional circumstances. The Ore Mountains are located in Central Europe on the border between Germany and the Czech Republic. For many centuries it was a countryside in which the local population eked out a hard existence from the land. Long and harsh winters restricted agriculture; in addition the region had very poor communications. With the onset of ore mining a new line of commerce developed, but the hard labour and high risks involved meant that it was only work for young and strong men. Many were injured or died as a result of accidents. The miners rose early in the morning whilst it was still dark in order to go to work and did not return home again until late in the evening after dark. From those times comes a custom that has survived to the present day, the practice of placing lights in the window. These lights were intended to show the miners the safe way back to the homes of their families. It wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seiffen
The town of Seiffen is located in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, which is in the central south of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. The earliest record of the town dates to 1324 when it was referred to as "Cynsifen". Seiffen nestles in the heart of the Ore Mountains (German: ''Erzgebirge''), which are famous for many Christmas traditions. As the silver and tin deposits declined, former miners had to look for new ways to feed their families. In addition to lace making and weaving, the local population turned to wood carving. Nutcrackers, "smoking men", Christmas pyramids (carousels with figures of the Christmas story or from mining) and ''Schwibbögen'' (wooden candle arches, displayed in windows, symbolising the opening of a mine) are some of many Christmas goods made in the Ore Mountains. Seiffen is a centre of the wooden toy industry. History The history of Seiffen started when miners opened up the district 700 years ago. With the recession of ore mining in the area, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Safety Lamp
A safety lamp is any of several types of lamp that provides illumination in coal mines and is designed to operate in air that may contain coal dust or gases, both of which are potentially flammable or explosive. Until the development of effective electric lamps in the early 1900s, miners used flame lamps to provide illumination. Open flame lamps could ignite flammable gases which collected in mines, causing explosions; safety lamps were developed to enclose the flame and prevent it from igniting the surrounding atmosphere. Flame safety lamps have been replaced in mining with sealed explosion-proof electric lights. Background Damps or gases Miners have traditionally referred to the various gases encountered during mining as damps, from the Middle Low German word ''dampf'' (meaning "vapour"). Damps are variable mixtures and are historic terms. * ''Firedamp'' Naturally occurring flammable mixtures, principally methane. * ''Blackdamp'' or ''Chokedamp'' Nitrogen and carbon dioxide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schwarzenberg, Saxony
Schwarzenberg is a town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony’s Ore Mountains, near the German–Czech border. The town lies roughly 15 km southeast of Aue, and 35 km southwest of Chemnitz. Founded in the 12th century to protect a trade road, the small mountain town became the centre of a territory known as '' Herrschaft Schwarzenberg'' and later ''Amt Schwarzenberg''. During the division of Germany, Schwarzenberg was part of East Germany and became the greatest producer of washing machines in Eastern Europe. Schwarzenberg became more widely known in 1987, when Stefan Heym coined the term Free Republic of Schwarzenberg for a small gap between the Soviet and American occupation zones in May/June 1945. Geography Schwarzenberg is in the southwestern Ore Mountains. It lies at elevations stretching from above sea level. The Old Town with church and castle is located on a rock (the Schlossberg, ) around which a meander of the River Schwarzwasser has formed; the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High German is defined as those varieties of German which were affected by the Second Sound Shift; the Middle Low German and Middle Dutch languages spoken to the North and North West, which did not participate in this sound change, are not part of MHG. While there is no ''standard'' MHG, the prestige of the Hohenstaufen court gave rise in the late 12th century to a supra-regional literary language (') based on Swabian, an Alemannic dialect. This historical interpretation is complicated by the tendency of modern editions of MHG texts to use ''normalised'' spellings based on this variety (usually called "Classical MHG"), which make the written language appear more consistent than it actually is in the manuscripts. Scholars are uncertain as to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steiger (mining)
A ''Steiger'' (literally "climber") is the title of a mining foreman or mine manager, used in German-speaking Europe. He bears responsibility for part of the mine and the people subordinated to him. The name is derived from the former role of a ''Steiger'', who continually had to climb into and out of the pit.Heinrich Veith: ''Deutsches Bergwörterbuch mit Belegen.'' Verlag von Wilhelm Gottlieb Korn, Breslau 1871 The ''Steiger'' is celebrated in a very popular German mining song the so-called '' Steigerlied'' (''Glückauf, Glückauf; der Steiger kommt …''). Historical role In medieval and early modern times, the state mining regulations obliged mining companies to employ pit officials for the supervision of their mines. Until the mid-19th century, these officials were civil servants. The term ''Steiger'' for these pit officials became established very early on in the mining regulations. The hiring and firing of pit officials was the responsibility of the mining authority or ''B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Candle Arches
A ''schwibbogen'' (, from Middle High German ', "to hover") is a decorative candle-holder from the Ore Mountains (''Erzgebirge'') region of Saxony, Germany. The first metal ''schwibbogen'' was made in 1740 in Johanngeorgenstadt. The early candle arches consisted of a single forged piece of black metal which could be painted. The number of candles varies with the size of the arc, the original design holding eleven. In the UK candle arches or candle bridges are marketed, often just consisting of a simple wooden stepped arch with 7 electric candles. These are not strictly ''schwibbögen''. Background The development of the ''schwibbogen'' arch is closely related to the mining traditions of the ore mountains. It most likely developed as a candle holder made from metal for the Christmas shift (''Mettenschicht''), a common dinner celebrated by miners, the mining foreman ('' Steiger'') and the smith who had been responsible for the mining tools throughout the year. It bears symbols co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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