Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

There are nutcrackers of many different woods, iron, brass, bronze, porcelain, and even ivory. There are boxed sets of nutcrackers and nut picks that graced the tables of Victorian times, lifelike animals, mechanical designs to crack even the black walnut, and nutcrackers to make you laugh in amusement.

Displaying well over 5,000 nutcrackers originating from over 40 countries, the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum is a definitely a place you will want to visit.

Enter through the door, and you are amazed at the vast amount of nutcrackers being shown!

Every where you look you will see NUTCRACKERS...different styles of wooden toy soldier nutcrackers, the name used for the colorful German figures of Steinbach, Ulbricht, and the Erzgebirge makers. You will see the Betel cutters from Asia, the beautifully carved wooden figurals from Europe, the precious ivory and porcelains, the silver that matched the Victorian tableware, or the conventional utility type strong enough to conquer the black walnuts.

You will find hand-held metal nutcrackers in beautiful designs as well as those more crudely crafted in blacksmith shops. You will see beautifully carved ebony and boxwood figures, so durable they have withstood hundreds of years.

And nutting bowls...artifacts found in the southeastern United States and Europe which date back thousands of years.
There are different ways to crack a nut...direct pressure, indirect pressure, screw, and percussion, and you will find them all in the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum. The creativity of man is vividly portrayed in the many ways he used to crack a nut.

Nutcrackers have been in use for thousands of years; in fact evidence shows that it was one of the first chores done by mankind. However, the stereotypical white-bearded, sword-toting nutcracker common to Christmas décor is only one chapter in The Art and Character of Nutcrackers. As the official book of The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, it showcases the largest collection of nutcrackers in the world — photographed and preserved in one place for the first time ever.

Since the Wagner's opened the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum in 1995, it has been visited by people from 49 states and 41 foreign countries! When you are in Leavenworth plan to see us too!