Mittenwald Violin Making – A Brief History

For classical musicians, Europe is full of must-visit cities, like Vienna, Paris, Berlin, and Florence. String players, however, make a pilgrimage to a small Bavarian town. Nestled at the foot of the Karwendel Mountains, Mittenwald has been a vibrant center of violin-making for nearly four centuries. Mittenwald’s high forest mountains yield beautiful tonewood, and its location along prominent trade routes connected to Venice allowed the alpine luthiers to become internationally recognized.

The Klotz Family

Matthias Klotz fathered a luthier dynasty, and over the years, his nebulous history has become musicological mythology. A tailor’s son, he likely received training in Füssen before traveling to Padua, Italy and working under Pietro Railich. Tradition holds that he studied under famed luthiers Nicolo Amati and Jacobus Stainer, but a handful of stylistic similarities provide the only evidence of this prestigious lineage.

He established an atelier in Mittenwald in the 1680s, but the oldest surviving instrument made by Klotz was made in 1712 when he was fifty-nine, suggesting either that this luthier patriarch made relatively few instruments in his younger years, or that they were all lost or destroyed.

Sebastian Klotz

Klotz’s son, Sebastian, secured the family legacy. Although he doesn’t enjoy his father’s honored place in music history, Sebastian’s high artistry refined the “Klotz violin,” allowing it to achieve international renown. Instantly recognizable for their dark brown varnish, Klotz violins are Baroque masterworks boasting finely carved scrolls with a high throat, excellent tonewood, moderately high arching of the table, and a curved peg box. Because original labels are missing on most of the early Mittenwald instruments, you have to rely on these details to identify Klotz violins. The Klotz atelier reigned throughout the eighteenth century, only waning in the face of the mechanization of instrument making in the 1800s.

Other important Mittenwald workshops

The Klotz family was not the only luthier dynasty in Mittenwald. Born in 1618, Mathias Neuner began an atelier that fifteen of his descendents would continue. An even more prolific luthier family, the Hornsteiners, arose in the eighteenth century; John Dilworth’s Book of Violin and Bow Makers lists twenty-six Hornsteiners among its ranks. To meet rising demands, the two families joined together to create the firm of Neuner & Hornsteiner.

In 1707, businessman J. Baader hired his own luthiers to create the J.A. Baader & Co. workshop, which earned a place next to Neuner & Hornsteiner as one of the pre-eminent Mittenwald ateliers. Mittenwald’s violin craftsmen rose to the challenge of nineteenth century industrialization; however, the devastation of World War I put the craft into relative dormancy for the next thirty years. The knowledge was not lost, and after World War II, Mittenwald’s luthiers returned to work.

The Instrument Making School of Mittenwald

In 1858, King Maxilimian II of Bavaria founded a violin-making school to preserve Mittenwald’s artistry in the face of rapid industrialization. Members of the Klotz clan made up the original faculty.

Today, the State Vocational School for Instrument Making trains the next generation of instrument artisans. It has expanded beyond violins, violas, and cellos to include brass, woodwinds, and other plucked instruments like guitars. It is a prestigious institution, breathing new life into centuries-old traditions. This school has trained some of the most respected modern luthiers, including Hans and Nancy Benning, Charles Beare, Roland Feller, and Hans Weisshaar.

Mittenwald Today

Today, a visit to Mittenwald is a little like stepping back in time. The town is a Bavarian postcard, complete with mountains, sausages, dirndls, and lederhosen, and music permeates the air. The 7,500 people who call Mittenwald home take an active part in maintaining their heritage.

A statue of Matthias Klotz watches over the Obermarkt, and there are plenty of master luthiers still plying their craft. The Geigenbau Museum Mittenwald catalogues the history and process of violin-making, while also providing information on how to discern the difference between real Mittenwald violins and imitations.

Although his grave has since been lost, The Church of Saint Nikolaus has a plaque that proudly states that Mathias Klotz was buried on its grounds. Inside, the church holds another piece of the Klotz legend. Tradition holds that Mathias Klotz prayed at Saint Nikolaus, asking God to bless his new atelier. Behind the altarpiece, you can find the remnants of the words he is alleged to have scribbled as thanks:

m k 16-4
geigenmacher i
n zo juhr

This scrawl launched centuries of craftsmanship, tradition, and music, which are still very much alive and well in Mittenwald and around the world, thanks to the unique instruments crafted there.

Mittenwald Violins for sale at Dolce Violins

Neuner and Hornsteiner Violin 1931
Neuner and Hornsteiner Violin c. 1870