Archive for the 'German' Category

Hand Crafted German Wooden Dollhouses


Until World War I German wooden dollhouses were considered to be the best in the world. The dollhouse had become popular around Europe around the early 16th centuries and it was during this time that German dollhouses also started to be produced.

The craze for German made dollhouses was sparked in 1558 by Albert of Bavaria who had a baby house designed and built according to his specifications. In those days the dollhouses were called baby houses and were for adults rather than children. The duke was so thrilled with his first baby house that he commissioned five others to be scale models of his houses. The original baby houses were a snobbish way of showing off what possessions that you had and this is probably the reason that they became so popular around this time among the aristocracy.

From around the 18th century the dollhouse began to be a popular child’s toy and many German based companies became famous for producing decorative and intricate designs. Many of these companies produced designs that became collector’s pieces. However, until the pieces could be mass produced, they tended to be a toy that was more associated with the upper classes than they were with the common man.

German dollhouses can either be found in the style of traditional German architecture or they can be german produced but done in the style of Gothic, Victorian and Tudor styles among other types of architecture. The most common sizes are 1-12 and 1-24 scales and you can buy them already made or as kits that you can construct by yourself.

Today German wooden dollhouses are popular with both children and adults. There are a number of companies that produce mass produced furniture and houses, but the hand crafted wooden houses and furniture remains the most lauded and lusted after by collectors.