Bürgelhaus

Bürgelhaus in Friedrichstraße: Christmas Decorations near Checkpoint Charlie

Bürgelhaus is located at Friedrichstraße 58 in Mitte, by its own description between Checkpoint Charlie and Leipziger Straße. The subway stations Stadtmitte and Kochstraße are both within walking distance, making the shop easily accessible without a detour for anyone already walking through Friedrichstadt. In 2022, two previously separate Berlin shops at this location were merged into one larger store, so wood art and ceramics have been in the same premises ever since.

The house is run by Falk Wächter, who has been trading Bürgel ceramics since the mid-1990s. In 1994, he joined his parents’ shop, and in 1997, Ore Mountain wood art was added. In 2023, the Association of Ore Mountain Craftsmen and Toy Manufacturers awarded Bürgelhaus as the best specialist shop for Ore Mountain folk art. Wächter also runs the Bürgeler Pottery Manufactory in Thuringia, which explains why two craft traditions, rarely found together in one shop, stand side by side in Bürgelhaus.

Ore Mountain Wood Art and Bürgel Ceramics Under One Roof

The assortment includes works from well over 100 workshops from the Ore Mountains, Thuringia, the Black Forest, and the Westerwald. These include nutcrackers, pyramids, candle arches, incense smokers, angels and miners, music boxes, nativity figures, cuckoo clocks, and tree ornaments made of wood, ceramic, and glass. The flower children and angels by Wendt & Kühn have their own section, with additional suppliers like Björn Köhler and Figurenland Uhlig. Each year, the house also releases individual pieces in limited editions.

The second half of the house is dedicated to ceramics from Bürgel in Thuringia, whose blue and white dots trace back to a pottery tradition since the 17th century. The entire range of Echtbürgel pottery is offered. A special feature is the exclusive Bürgelhaus own line, which combines Ore Mountain wooden figures with miniatures made of genuine Bürgel ceramics, such as a Santa Claus with a wheelbarrow full of jugs. A tree ornament with a Bürgel ceramic ball costs 18.90 Euros, a Bürgel nutcracker 139 Euros. The range extends upwards to pyramids in the three-digit price range.