100 years of eleven-dot angels also stand for one hundred years full of experiences, emotion, and stories that are inseparably linked with these small heavenly messengers, giving them life. As of now, we have received over 900 letters from people sharing their angel stories with us. Here you can read some of them. Of course, we are very happy to continue hearing about your personal favorite angel. We regularly add new contributions to the collection.
Angels on Celestial Bodies
It is particularly at Christmas that I look back on my happy childhood. There were six of us children. My mother was very prudent and a good organizer. She managed to find things it was not easy to obtain at the time. Hand-crafted items from the Erzgebirge were very hard to come by, and were also known as “under the counter goods”. Through her contacts she received a parcel from under the counter without knowing what was in it. When she got it home, she had a wonderful surprise. The cardboard box contained six Christmas tree ornaments of the famous Eleven Dot Angels in a star and moon. Our mother knew how very special they were. They were given place of honor on the Christmas tree. All our guests were able to admire the angels. Now whenever I decorate my Christmas tree with the angels I can hear my mother saying: “Real Wendt & Kühn with green wings and eleven white dots, not everyone has them you know...”
G. Neumann, Aue
Angel with Violin
After living in California for seven years, we moved back to Germany in 2017, to Leipzig. In December 2019 a good friend took us on a trip to the Erzgebirge and to Wendt & Kühn. As I had grown up in a carpenter’s workshop myself, I was fascinated from the get-go. I immediately fell in love with the angels and decided to buy an ensemble for my best friend in California. She had been a lead singer for many years and played the guitar and piano, and loved the violin! We were to spend Christmas 2019 and the New Year in California and wanted to take the ensemble with us. Then the pandemic and travel ban hit us. The beautiful package now stood in my kitchen. In December 2020 I decided to send the angels to California by post. My friend was thrilled to bits! She leaves her little angel band out all year round and sends me photos every now and then.
D. Walther, Leipzig
Angel with Bell and Lantern
My favorite angel carries a lantern in its left hand. The bell it should be carrying in the other hand is missing. All that remains are traces of glue. I bought it on eBay. Its slightly tanned face, mischievous look and rosy cheeks, tell me that it is already very old. When was the angel born? If it could speak, what would it have to say? Who has it made happy? Children who owned it all their lives and who even as old people would bring it out to reminisce? And where did it live before it came to me? In a suitcase in the attic or in a box in the cellar? When I look at my angel it smiles at me with its head tilted slightly to one side.
S. Gräbner, Berlin
Angel with Pot and Flower
This is actually a story about my 84-year-old mother, who has an extensive Wendt & Kühn collection. The Blossom Kinder accompany her throughout the year and at Christmas the angel orchestra is lovingly arranged just like a real orchestra. But her favorite one is the angel with teapot and flower. We gave her this figurine four years ago when she was in hospital after a serious operation. As she lived so far away we could not visit her that often. During one of our hospital visits the nurse on duty told us it was essential that my mother should drink more to literally get back on her feet. So I chose the small angel figurine holding the pretty teapot, and the nurse put it on the bedside table where my mother could see it to remind her to drink her tea. My mother has a large collection of china at home and this teapot looked very like one she owns. And what could be more lovely that the addition of a greeting in the form of a flower in the angel’s hand. When she was released from hospital, her favorite angel took pride of place at home.
B. Hinken, Greifswald
Angel with Double Bass
My mother lived and married in Dresden in 1935, and a dear friend gave her this angel as a wedding present. When she died I inherited all her Wendt & Kühn angels. Since then we have added to the collection and we now have 155. Many of the angels I inherited had got damaged while they were stored in boxes over winter, so we brought them to Grünhainichen to be repaired. But not the angel with the double bass that is now 87 years old – older than both me and my husband – and which we keep in a glass cabinet all year round. We want to be able to see the damage it sustained during the war and post-war years, so it acts as a constant reminder that angels can protect us, even in bad times.
Brigitte Primke, Berlin
Angel with Transverse Flute
When our youngest granddaughter was allowed to choose an instrument for her music lessons, she chose the transverse flute. She practiced hard and at Christmas we listened to her playing with delight. It was even more festive when her older sister sang along too – we gave her the Angel with Sheet of Music.
Ch. Bunte, Oerlinghausen
Angel with French Horn
Actually I don’t have just one favorite angel. Many of my figurines hold a special meaning for me. I have decided on two angels (the Angel with French Horn and the Angel with Clarinet). My husband and I got together on January 1, 1988. We both played in the Waldstadt orchestra, my husband the French horn and I the clarinet. At Christmas 1988, my mother-in-law set up her angel orchestra and when I saw it I was blown away. At the next Christmas market I visited I bought my first two angels (with French horn and clarinet) – even though the positioning of the French horn was more like that of a hunting horn, but at that time it was still very difficult to get the figurines you wanted. Later I bought the Angel with Orchestra Horn (650/56) because this has the horn in the correct position. So you could say that these two angels formed the start of my collection today and that is why they both hold a very special meaning for me.
K. Sonneborn, Hemer
Angel with Trumpet, sitting
I grew up with Wendt & Kühn, but only because my grandmother owned the Organ music box, which I always wound up admiringly at Christmas. With my husband, his sister, his parents, and grandparents, on the other hand, it was a tradition that everyone had their own little angel and also received one at Christmas as a gift. When I joined the family, the Angel with Trumpet was my first angel, given to me by my “grandparents-in-law” for Christmas. It was the beginning of my collection. We continued this tradition with our own children from the age of four (they are now 11 and 15), so they, too, could have their own angels.
S. Sternberg, Bochum
Gold Edition No 15, The Mindful One
‘The Mindful One’ angel has only just moved in, but it is already my favorite angel. Our story together is only just beginning.
After two years enduring the pandemic, I had my big breakdown in early 2022. I fell into a deep, dark hole called depression. Now ten months have passed, and I have gotten help and am learning a lot about mindfulness for myself in therapy. And then today I saw the new little angel ‘The Mindful One.’ I see it as a sign that I am on the right path. For me, the little angel is a symbol of my care for myself. It stands for the path I have already taken. I am very happy and grateful for my new little angel friend.
T. Richter, Dresden
Angel with Bell and Candle
In early December 1995 I received the wonderful news from my gynecologist that I was expecting twins. I was going to be a mother! I was so happy! On the same day I was invited to our small company Christmas party in the Ore Mountains. During the Secret Santa gift exchange, I received my first Grünhainichen Angel from my favorite colleague. The little Angel with Candle and Bell. Even as a young girl, I was very fond of these angels. But I could only admire them at my friend’s homes. Now, on this marvelous day, I met three little angels – two that were still growing and one that became my lucky charm… What a lovely gift. The little angel is even today my guardian angel and, ever since this first angel, I have bought a Musician Angel every year during Advent in Grünhainichen. And every year in the advent season when I then set the little angels in my window, I think about our very first meeting.
Andrea from Saxony
Angel with Star and Lantern
As children each of us four siblings received an eleven-dot angel from our parents as a gift. During advent season the angel was our companion at the dining room table until January 6. I cannot imagine an advent without this precious angel – not then, and even more so today. As soon as we moved out, we were allowed to take it with us. That was a very long time ago. In the meantime, through inheritance and gifts, I have collected an orchestra, and I thank the expert and loving restoration by Wendt & Kühn that everything is in perfect condition. So, the orchestra’s Angel with Star and Lantern continues to shine brightly after 67 years – at least until Candlemas Day - simply because it is so beautiful and good for the soul. The angel has truly found a place in my heart!
U. Voit, Schriesheim
