Old Nikolai School. "Nikolai furniture" from the chairmaker town of Rabenau
The chairmaking tradition of Rabenau is almost 400 years old. The many special skills of Rabenau's chairmakers that have grown during this time have survived industrialization, and they have survived national ownership 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 Rabenau chairmakers are capable of, they show above all in the faithful reproduction of historical models. In 1910, the Rabenauers supplied the following seating furniture and tables to furnish 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.
Frames. Solid beech wood
Rabenau furniture frames are made of solid beech wood, which is stained and polished. Wood joints are tapped and cold glued. Rod milling on the legs.
Seating surfaces. Leather or wickerwork
The seats are either leather seats or wickerwork: Leather seats consist of a plywood base padded with upholstery wadding; black cowhide is fixed to it with decorative nails. For the wickerwork seats, the split, stained peddigree is woven three times by hand through holes drilled in the chair rabbet.
In cooperation with the Rabenau chairmakers we offer you to have older models of chairs of this type refurbished. You will receive an offer on request, the duration of the restoration depends on the effort.
Selected "Nikolai furniture" in detail
In this type of construction is rarely found today: a solid and extraordinarily easy to use extension table with an elaborate pull-out mechanism made of solid beech wood. Under the term "Dutchman" - due to the country of origin - this type of table has been tried and tested for centuries, but it is now only manufactured by a few tradition- and quality-conscious carpenters. On top of the table sits a continuous beech veneered top, which rests centrally on a so-called bridge. On either side of this bridge, below the top, are the two 50 cm long pull-out extension leaves, which transform the table in an instant into a stately 2.45 m long table that can comfortably seat ten people.
Originally, in 1910, supplied by the Rabenau chairmakers to the Alte Nikolaischule in Leipzig, today made for Manufactum in the best tradition of craftsmanship. Frame and frame of the desk top are made of solid beech wood, the filling of the desk top is made of blockboard (material thickness 25 mm). The desk top is also equipped with a cover of black table linoleum and two drawers running in wooden fillings. Locks made of metal.
