Markneukirchen: violin making in “German Cremona”

His great sense of regional pride and healthy spirit of self-confidence are what inspired violin maker Ludwig Gläsel jr. (1842-1931) from Markneukirchen in Saxony to print the words “German Cremona” on his violin labels. Gläsel was, after all, one of the finest and most successful master craftsmen of his day from the Vogtland region, and he also made a name for himself with several publications about the history of making violins. As a member of a well-established and large family of violin makers, he was certainly entitled to the brash pride that led him to rank the main village of the "Musikwinkel" region (the "musical corner" on the border between Saxony and Bohemia) alongside the legendary name of Cremona.

Or was his label perhaps intended as a sly wink? After all, during the approximately 350 years in which musical instruments were built in Markneukirchen, the town did not always enjoy an unblemished reputation. Around the mid-1700s, Carl Wilhelm Heber saw the need to put an additional label inside one of his violins:

Those who deal with old violins are all too familiar with these false labels that claim Italian provenance as well as famous – or at least famous-sounding – names. In the “Musicon Valley,” as Markneukirchen's region is sometimes now called, people understood what was popular and knew that time would tell. There are many violins that reveal their Saxonian heritage only upon closer examination by the trained eye.

The people of Markneukirchen have more than enough reason to be proud of their violin-making tradition, however. The history of building violins in the Vogtland region began in the mid-16th century, and as was the case in the neighbouring town of Klingenthal, Protestant émigrés from nearby Kraslice (Graslitz) in Bohemia brought their art to Markneukirchen, and with it arose an important new branch of industry ...

Next chapter: Markneukirchen – violin making at the crossroads of craftsmanship and trade

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