Wood turners from all over the world meet in Olbernhau

Turners from all over the world let the chips fly in Olbernhau at the weekend, attracting many interested visitors and onlookers. At times, a queue formed at the entrance, said organizer Martin Steinert from the Erzgebirge Woodturning Centre on Sunday. He estimated the number of visitors at around 3500 people. The woodturning enthusiasts came not only from Saxony, but also from other regions of Germany and abroad - even from Hawaii and Australia.

"The fascination of woodturning lies in the interplay between technique and design," explained Steinert. Different techniques were demonstrated at the meeting. Filigree figures as well as bowls with a diameter of two meters were turned there - ultimately everything that can be clamped on a lathe.

The focus was on exchanging ideas with each other. There were also demonstrations, exhibitions and a tool fair. There were also presentations by institutions involved in woodturning and other craft techniques relating to wood.

The craft is widespread

In Saxony and especially in the Ore Mountains, woodturning is widespread - among professional wooden toy makers and artisans as well as hobby craftspeople. Many of the figures that adorn Christmas parlors every year were created on woodturning lathes: Nutcrackers and incense smokers as well as angel and miner figures.

This type of woodworking once developed in different places around the world, explained Steinert. This is how different techniques were developed. The meeting itself, which is held at a different location every two years, originated from an internet forum in which woodturning enthusiasts exchanged ideas, explained the expert. At that time, the desire arose to meet outside the virtual world. The first woodturning forum meeting took place in Munich in 2007.

This year's venue was the Saigerhütte site. It is considered an important historical site of metallurgy and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ore Mountains/Krušnohoří.