Wood carver from Jachenau designed a Christmas tree star made of stone pine: in demand around the world for 30 years

A Jachenauer star goes on a journey: The pine tree decorations from the workshop of wood sculptor Josef Scheifl are sold all over the world.

Jachenau

- straw stars, balls and candles are the classics that many people use to decorate their Christmas tree.

It is a bit more unusual when stars made of stone pine also hang on the branches.

This special Christmas decoration started its triumphant advance from Jachenau.

The wood sculptor Josef Scheifl came up with the wooden stars around 30 years ago - and since then he has had his hands full trying to meet the ongoing demand.

It may look stupid, but I sit there in the summer and make Christmas tree decorations.

Josef Scheifl, wood sculptor from Jachenau.

Josef Scheifl certainly did not think of decades of production when he was thinking on a rainy autumn day about what he could carve for the pre-Christmas period. “That day I made the first star,” he recalls. When he soon brought a few copies to a shop in Oberammergau, the owner was busy decorating his shop window for Christmas. "He said: We'll hang a few stars on the tree right away," reports Scheifl. “The next day the tree was empty.” Replenishment was needed. Til today.

The Jachenauer still makes several hundred stars in different models every year.

Of course, he has to tackle the work in good time.

“Doing that in November or December is too tight,” he says.

"It might look stupid, but I sit there in summer and make Christmas tree decorations," he says with a laugh.

He even remembers how he used to carry wood with him on his summer vacation in his favorite travel destination, Norway.

"I sat by the fjord and carved stars."

Stone pine from Tyrol smells fragrant and is soft and tough at the same time

Scheifl has always relied on stone pine from Tyrol.

“It's soft and tough at the same time - and it spreads a wonderful scent.” The Jachenauer therefore also offers bowls in which you can put stone pine shavings.

His wife now also gilds part of the stars.

There would certainly also be laser machines that could spit out 1,000 such stars per hour.

Scheifl carves each one by hand on his workbench.

“And people appreciate that,” he says.

A colleague and dealer once showed him a picture.

"If you imagine a globe with a little light shining everywhere where someone has my stars, then the globe would be illuminated all around."

Because at points of sale such as in Oberammergau or in the monastery shop on Fraueninsel in Chiemsee, many tourists also notice Scheifl's carvings.

Americans, for example, appreciate the “Snowflake” design.

Zirbenholz stars from Jachenau are available in regional shops

The stars also adorn many local Christmas trees.

They are sold as regional products, for example, at the “Kräuterhexe” and “Dorfladen” in Lenggries, in the “Heimatwerk” in the Tölzer Stadtmuseum or at Gravuren Weigl in Wolfratshausen.

Incidentally, the price has been constant for years: 5 euros per star.

In contrast, sales at the Christmas markets on Glentleiten and in the Wasmeier open-air museum in Schliersee will no longer be available this year for the second time in a row.

For Scheifl, these were good opportunities to make themselves known to customers who later specifically sought the way to his workshop with a shop in the Bäcker district.

Even so, many orders still come in there.

Coolness is one of Josef Scheifl's favorite motifs

Especially in the run-up to Christmas, some customers want to add to their cribs - with shepherds or sheep to elephants.

“The nativity figurines are very elaborate,” says Scheifl.

“What I do shouldn't be mass-produced.” He therefore only carves a limited number of figures each year.

He only makes complete cribs - the basic equipment costs from 220 euros - he only makes four to five a year.

"I also have to say to some customers that I will only be able to fulfill their wishes in the coming year."

But even at wood sculptor Scheifl, the whole year is not Christmas.

In addition to cribs and stars, cows are among his favorite motifs.

“You have to have a connection to the creatures, know what they look like and how they stand,” he says.

"They have their very own expression."

Studying nature is part of the wood carving profession

This also applies to chamois, deer or ibex, which Scheifl also carves. That is why studying nature is part of his job. In the Karwendel he wandered again and again to a colony of ibex, until he could quietly approach the animals within a few meters, he says. "I crouched with them and watched them closely."

Scheifl once learned the profession of wood carver in a three-year training course at the technical school in Oberammergau. Before that, he had carved as a hobby. The fascination for wood came from the cradle, so to speak. He worked in the family's own sawmill for seven years. "At some point came the moment when I said: If I want to continue carving, then be smart." He passed the two-day entrance exam in Oberammergau. Only a few others from his class at the time would later have made a living as a wood sculptor, says Scheifl. But he went into business for himself in the 1970s. At 77 years old, he doesn't think about quitting - his work gives him too much pleasure. So many stars will still go out into the world from Jachenau.

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