A Visit to a Nativity Woodcarver

This afternoon I joined the Garbers on a little outing to a local woodcarver’s shop in a town about 50 minutes from the office.  It was a really fun way to begin this Christmas month.

The name of the shop is Toni Sauer Woodcarvings. Toni is the father of Manfred Sauer, who now runs the shop with his wife.  Manfred was such a nice gentle-spirited man.  As one who creates Nativities, you’d have to be that kind of person.

The shop was in what felt like a home at one time, with rooms like a home. They had shelving around each room displaying Nativities he and others had carved. They were really beautifully done.

Manfred told me that his family has lived in that village (5 km north of Aschaffenburg) for 300 years. His ancestors all worked with wood–carpenters, wheelwrights, and then his grandfather and father became carvers. He is following their examples, as a carver.

Their website is www.holzschnitzereien-sauer.de.

From what I understand, there are several artists who made these winter scenes and Nativities.  Each was so beautiful.

Many of the carved Nativities had a hand-painted or a natural wood option.

I loved looking into the faces of the shepherds and other pieces.  Each had its own personality.

I also loved how many women were included in many of the sets.

These Nativities are designed so that you can add pieces to most of them, creating and personalizing your own.  While we were there, a man came in with his daughter, who was maybe 8 or 9 years old.  They were picking out extra pieces for the set (below) that they had at home. They probably add something new each year. A nice tradition.

Here is the price list for the Nativity just above, to give an idea of the pricing.  Each piece is priced separately.  For example, in this set (painted), the Holy Family is 89 Euro, the ox and donkey are 30,60 Euro, the angels are 36,30.  The elephant with the pack on its back is 96,80 + 44,90.  Each sheep is  19,70 Euro, or about $20 USD.  The stall (Krippe) is sold separately.

Here are some of the extra pieces you can add:

An average Nativity set like the one above, with the traditional pieces and maybe a few extras, can cost as much as $1000.

Here is a Nativity that I loved.  It was smaller, with natural wood, and the details were exquisite.  It was also the only set in the shop that was on sale, marked down from 561,40 to 390 Euro because it was the last of its kind.  This one went home with me!

These are some of the woodworking tools that have been in Manfred’s family for generations.  You can tell he was proud of his heritage.

I hope you enjoy looking at these Nativities as we all turn out thoughts this month to the birth of our beloved Christkind.