I hope someone has been to Marienberg, Germany and can give me a little background on the town. I am especially interested in visiting the Steinbach nutcracker factory. Do they have tours, a factory store, etc, any information would help What is the town of Marienberg like, a cute town with character, a factory town, worth the time to go out of our way to see?. We are planning this as quick sidetrip on a Seiffen trip out of Dresden and then continuing on to Leipzig. Any info would be appreciated.

Marienberg is one of the earliest Renaissance towns in Germany. That means orthogonal layout for the streets, large main square, houses from that era. Don't expect picturesque medieval views, though. The church is quite beautiful and they have an interesting museum on regional history and mining. It wouldn't be my first choice to see when in the area - Annaberg or Freiberg are *way* more beautiful.

Steinbach Nutcrackers are not exactly typical for the nutcrackers from the Erzgebirge mountains. They are kitschy, the motifs have nothing to do with the original figures. As far as I know the Steinbachs first had a plant in Northern Germany and only built another one twenty years ago (after the wall came down) in the Erzgebirge mountains - so no tradition in *typical* items from the Erzgebirge. They just wanted to get the plaque "Original Erzgebirge" this way.

If you want a traditional nutcracker then buy from the Füchtner family in Seiffen. Their Great-Great-Grandfather (or so) created the first one. It's still a small family owned business and they only manufacture the traditional figures.

I.

Thanks Ingo!