It makes all the neighborhoods beautiful, and I had never seen these decorations before since they are not part of my region’s culture.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, mining started to not be the only way to make a living, as it had been historically. Jobs in mechanical engineering, metal processing and paper and textile factory work were created. Now that there is less mining in the region today, some of the mines have become tourist attractions. The one we visited, for instance, brought us into the mine by train and even had a laser light show in the mine underground. Tourism also provides jobs to the area.
One hobby in the area has been the creation of Volkskunst (“folk art”). When people had free time or were going through a period without much metal available to mine, they created extravagant, three-dimensional landscapes with hundreds of figurines. The landscapes included detailed winter, mining and sometimes biblical scenes and used gears and levers to make the figures move just by pushing a button. Sometimes, friends would have competitions with each other to see who could create the newest engineering feat in their landscape, such as making the figurines look like they were sledding down a hill. While in the area, we visited a Volkskunst museum, and all of these landscapes were incredible to see.
Between the mountains and the snow, it is evident that the people of the Erzgebirge region have lived in close connection to their environment for hundreds of years. Despite the long winters, people have continued to thrive in the area and make it a beautiful region to visit.
