Desk Old Nikolai School

The Rabenau chair making tradition is almost 400 years old. Their many special capabilities acquired in that time have outlived unscathed the 19th century industrializing and the 20th century socialist expropriation. (They probably aren’t chafing under the strict regulations of the federal crafts code. At any rate the chair maker’s profession has been subsumed by the general category of joinery.) Today 16 firms are operating under one roof in a cooperative. They manufacture chairs and tables in one of the best traditions of the trade. The Rabenau chair makers can really show what they can do with their original reconstructions of historical chair models.

The Rabenauer furntiture frames are often made of stained and polished solid beechwood. The joints are pegged and glued. The legs are milled.

In 1910 the Rabenau firm outfitted the four-hundred-year old »Old Nikolai School« in the Nikolai church yard in Leipzig. When the renovated building was reopened as a culture center in 1994 the furniture was retro-manufactured in Rabenau. The furniture is available for »private use « only from us.

As a special service, in collaboration with the Rabenau chair manufacturers, we offer repair service for the chairs. You can receive an offer on inquiry, the duration of the repair depends on the work involved.

Rabenau's chairmaking tradition is almost 400 years old. The many special skills of Rabenau's chairmakers that have grown over that time have survived industrialization, and they have survived the Volkseigentum and the Federal Republic's Vocational Training Ordinance unscathed. Today, 16 factories work under the umbrella of a cooperative. They manufacture chairs and tables in a manner committed to the best traditions of the trade. What the Rabenauer chairmakers can do, they show especially in the faithful reproduction of historical models.

In 1910, the Rabenauer supplied the following seating furniture and tables to equip the four hundred year old "Old Nikolai School" at the Nikolaikirchhof in Leipzig. For the reopening of the renovated building as a cultural center in 1994, the furniture was built a second time in Rabenau. For "private use" they are only available from us.

The frames and seat frames of the Rabenau furniture are made of solid beech wood, which is stained and varnished. The wood joints are tapped and cold glued. The seat frames of the seating furniture are mitered and the edges are profile milled; typical leg shape with rod milling.

The seating surfaces are either leather seats or wickerwork:

- The leather seats consist of a plywood base, which is padded with upholstery wadding; black cowhide is fixed on it with decorative nails.
- For the wickerwork seating surfaces, the split, stained peddigree is woven three times by hand through holes in the chair fold.

In cooperation with the Rabenau chair makers, we offer to refurbish older models of chairs of this type. You will receive an offer on request, the duration of the restoration depends on the effort.