Weihnachtsburg in Stützengrün
Folk Art Environment Made of Stone
Manfred Leistner's Weihnachtsburg is a remarkable example of outsider art located in the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) region of Saxony, Germany. Over more than a decade, Leistner transformed his private home into a vibrant folk art environment, blending traditional regional motifs with personal creativity.
The house is adorned with paving slabs and mosaics, showcasing Leistner's dedication to detailed craftsmanship. A standout feature is the large sandstone Christmas pyramid, a traditional structure in the region, which includes intricately carved figures and a prominent miner statue atop the roof. This miner pays homage to the area's mining heritage.
Leistner's Weihnachtsburg stands as a unique and personal artistic expression, reflecting both the cultural traditions of the Erzgebirge and the artist's individual vision.
via
go.mfru.it
Note
The existence of this house has been etched somewhere in my long-term memory for years, but I never managed to motivate myself to go and find it again—until yesterday!
Tucked away on a side street in Stützengrün stands a fairly large multi-family house with extensions. Quite atypically, it’s clad on two visible sides with rough concrete paving slabs. The west-facing gable side is adorned with false columns, an archway, and embedded stones.
Towering above it all is a sandstone figure of a miner, above which sits an eagle and a copper-colored dome. The windows are seemingly decorated year-round with traditional Ore Mountain Schwibbogen candle arches. A massive sandstone pyramid (Ore Mountain-style, not Egyptian) stands on the other side of the archway, which leads into an otherwise plain cement-colored garage.
The pyramid appears to be composed of hand-carved figures, paintings, and found plastic figurines. Attached to one of the pyramid’s wings is a toy train engine.
On a building in the courtyard above the garage is a stone relief bearing the inscription: “Built by M.L. 1994–1998” along with the face of M. Leistner.
On the front of the house, a Schwibbogen is carved in relief into the sandstone—naively styled, yet surprisingly detailed.
There is also a relief that seems to depict the Prince George Tower (Prinz-Georg-Turm) on the Kuhberg—at least that’s my assumption—as well as a railway/bridge scene, which I haven’t been able to identify.
On the opposite gable side, more year-round Schwibbogen candle arches are visible in the windows, along with stone mosaics set into the paving slabs.
Overall, this is a very unusual folk art environment for this region and, it seems, one that hasn’t been documented elsewhere.
As a side note: you can actually spend your vacation here, as there is a holiday apartment available for rent.
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by Marcus Obst
visited at 2021-04-10
