Garden dwarfs (Gartenzwerge in German) are popular lawn ornaments in the western world. The figurines are almost always male wearing red, pointy caps and long, bushy white beards. Traditionally made from terracotta, they are now often manufactured from wood, porcelain, ceramics, resins or similar materials. Garden dwarfswere once believed to protect their owners from evil and to secretly help around house and garden.
Garden dwarfs (Gartenzwerge) have been popular in the western world since 1860. This little guy lives in Englewood, Florida. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019.
History of Garden Dwarfs
The origin of these small creatures is somewhat contested. Small stone statues existed already in the gardens of ancient Rome. But the birthplace of garden dwarfs was most likely the small German town of Graefenroda. By 1841, the Dresden company Baehr and Maresch already sold ceramic dwarfs. Within the next ten years, the popularity of these little guys spread from the German provinces of Saxony and Thuringia all across Germany and into France. In 1847, Sir Charles Isham bought 21 terracotta garden dwarfs from Philip Griebel in Graefenroda and brought them back to Britain, where they became known as “garden gnomes.” Since 1860, the town is known for its production of Gartenzwerge.
After World War I, the popularity of gnomes declined, but when Walt Disney produced the animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the 1930s, all social classes began to purchase them. Prior to that, only the wealthy bought Gartenzwerge. In 2008, they were so popular that an estimated 25 million garden dwarfs decorated lawns in Germany. Since then, these “little people” have popped up in films, television shows, commercials, books and advertising. They even have their own holiday. Since 2002, over a dozen countries celebrate International Gnome Dayon the 21st of June 21st every year.
The Fate of the Garden Gnomes
Lately, Graefenroda’s garden dwarfs are in a world of hurt, however. Not that they have gone out of fashion. The problem is that there are not enough workers in the town anymore to produce them. The 160-year-old Philip Griebel company still exists. It is one of Germany’s last-surviving gnome makers and is currently headed by Reinhard Griebel, one of Philip Griebel’s descendants. Now Reinhard wants to retire and is looking for a successor. The problem is that Graefenroda, a town located in former East Germany, has seen an exodus of workers since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and German reunification in 1990. Before the fall of the Wall, the firm employed a work force of 60. That number has dwindled to a whopping three. Without a successor, the company, which has produced over 500 gnome characters over the years, will have to shut its doors soon.
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
