A Weihnachtsberg is a decorative, mountain-like model of the landscape of the Ore Mountains (between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

), which is set up indoors during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

period. It portrays the

nativity scene In the Christianity, Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian language, Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christ ...

and mining motifs as well as local themes. The figures and objects are often movable and mechanically driven. The Weihnachtsberg has its origins in the so-called ''Buckelbergwerk'' models of the 18th century, which only had mining subjects. In the 19th century, Christmas scenes were added.

Literature

* Fachschule für Tourismus des Instituts für Soziale und Kulturelle Bildung e. V. (pub.): ''Heimat- und Weihnachtsberge des Sächsischen Erzgebirges.'' Husum Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft 1996, * Claus Leichsenring: ''Weihnachtsberge & Heimatberge: ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Volkskultur im sächsischen Erzgebirge.'' Chemnitz: Gumnior, 2004. * Gunter Bergmann: ''Kleines sächsisches Wörterbuch.'' Reclam, Leipzig

External links

"Neue Weihnachtsberge" ...der Bau von Weihnachtsbergen und Buckelbergwerken
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214043811/http://www.lindenholz.homepage.t-online.de/sv_berge.htm , date=2012-12-14 Christmas decorations Culture of the Ore Mountains Nativity of Jesus in art