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thumb|upright=1.8|Saalfeld Easter egg tree with 9200 eggs, taken March 24, 2009 The Osterbaum (Easter Tree) or Ostereierbaum (Easter Egg Tree) is a German Easter tradition of decorating trees and bushes with Easter eggs.

History

The Ostereierbaum is a centuries-old tradition whose origins have been lost and the egg itself is an ancient symbol of life all over the world. While the strongest connections are found in Germany and Austria, this custom is also found in other German-influenced places such as Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moravia, and the Pennsylvania Dutch region. Eggs are not only hung on branches of outdoor trees, but also bushes and (mostly) cut branches inside. Egg trees are also seen on May Day, Christmas, Whitsun, and the summer solstice. Other German Easter traditions include decorating public fountains, rabbits, bonfires, spring cleaning, and exercise.

Saalfeld Ostereierbaum

A special example is an apple tree in the garden of Volker Kraft in Saalfeld, Thuringia. Kraft and his family have been decorating the tree since 1965 with just 18 plastic eggs. In 2012 they decorated the tree with over 10,000 eggs. This had been a childhood dream of Volker Kraft ever since he saw his first Easter "tree", a lilac bush he passed on the way to school, as a youth in 1945. By 1994 the number of eggs increased to about 350 pieces. As the tree grew, more and more eggs were needed and the Krafts blew out almost all the eggs and blew used in their household. They used various decoration and reused th eggs each year.

[G? too specific: As their children grew up, interest in the "Egg Show" waned, but was renewed when their grandchildren began to learn of the family tradition. As the number of eggs grew, more and more visitors from outside the family came to see their egg tree.]

Between 1994 and 2009 an annual average of 700 new Easter eggs were hung on the tree, but due to losses by storm and vandalism, the net annual average increase was 590 eggs. [G? would place that after the 10,000: However, the Kraft's tree does not hold the record for the most eggs on one tree. That honor belongs to the Rostock Zoo, which in April 2007 decorated a red oak with 79,596 blown and painted eggs, which earned it an entry in Guinness World Records.]

In 1995 a training center [G? for what?] was built in the immediate vicinity, bringing even more visitors and national fame to the Easter egg tree.

Beginning in 2003 newspapers from Holland, Kuwait, Austria, Spain, Australia, Thailand, USA, and South Africa began reporting on the Easter egg tree. Crowds of visitors have been continuous since then. The entrance is free, but for curiosity the visitors were counted in 2008 as about 6,000. [The family has a counter at the entrance to its private garden, the entrance is free, about 6,000 guests have visited.] Responding to requests from visitors, the family has offered souvenirs over the Internet since 2005.

Design of the tree

[G? only one tree, or could part of that section go to more general, also below on design?] Hanging the eggs begins, depending on the weather and depending on date of Easter, between late February and late March, roughly four weeks before Easter. In 2009 days it took 9 days to decorate the tree.

Decorating the tree involves family members, especially Volker Kraft himself, his wife Christa, and daughter Gabriela Rumrich. Ladders must be used because of the size of the tree. Eggs are attached from inside to outside and from top to bottom.

The eggs have to be taken off before the leaves grow. In 2012 there were over 10,000 eggs on the Easter egg tree and Kraft said that it would be no more (???not add more eggs YES or that he won't decorate at all anymore NO???).

Design of the eggs

Closeup of the decorated Saalfeld tree

All eggs are mouth-blown and most are sprayed with one or more multicolored patterns. In addition, a large number of eggs are painted with motifs found in the city, such as the city gates or the home-museum, but world famous buildings are also used as motifs. Many eggs are elaborately crocheted and thus protected against further weathering. New themes are used every year. Perforated eggs are also found on the tree. Some eggs are also transformed by clay to shapes such as frogs, turtles, hedgehogs, and hot air balloons. ??? [Keep simple, just clay, all this sentence says. These are designed to further refinements of the modeling eggs???.]

Now visitors bring their own eggs to the tree, increasing the number of donated (G?) eggs. Nowadays eggs from foreign countries are also represented.

Special eggs are stored in a special display case visible to all visitors in order to protect the eggs against wind, weather, and vandalism.

• 
  Egg with plant drawings
• Crocheted egg
  Crocheted egg
• 
  Pearl egg
• 
  Egg-mice

External links

Commons: Easter in Germany – Sammlung von Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien

• Official site of the Saalfelder Ostereierbaum
• [http://gardenexpert999.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-a-German-Easter-Tree How to Make a German Easter Tree]
• Largest Easter Egg Tree
• The Easter Egg Tree
• Ideas for an Outstanding Easter Egg Tree

de:Saalfelder Ostereierbaum