The Smithsonian it's not, but this humble little museum is worth a stop if you have any interest in things nutcracker. Watch the short film that tells the nutcracker history and how to tell the real things from the Asian knock-offs. The facility is upstairs off of Front Street in the heart of Leavenworth. Admission is cheap and it really doesn't take long to see what there is. I doubt anyone has the patience to look at all the zillions of nutcrackers, but still, go and take it in. I don't know where else you could see something similar.
Strolling through town of Leavenworth we found this opportunity to explore the museum. After living in Central Europe for 12 years, wanted to see what they were offering for a view. It was absolutely amazing. There has to be over 1500 crackers, all hand made; as well as the metal tools used in yesterday for cracking a staple if fine nuts! A 14 min video of the museum set the stage for an inspiring 1 1/2 hours of viewing. All of that for $2.50. Only cheesy item were the ornaments from China
Wife and daughter enjoyed while I saw enough in the window. Overall very nice museum especially if you're a Nutcracker nut!
They probably have more nutcrackers than any place within thousands of miles. This would be a great visit for a nutcracker enthusiast, but is pretty repetitious for the rest of us.
We went through the Nutcracker Museum and found many different types of Nutcrackers dating from the 1400 and all the way up to the present day. Awesome place to see some original nutcrackers.
The Nutcracker Museum is easy to miss. Up a flight of stairs above a storefront, and hosted by two knowledgeable and lovely elderly women, it is a Leavenworth gem. The hostess said there were over 6,000 nutcrackers, nicely displayed. There are ancient nut cracking tools, century-old nutcrackers, many themed types, as well as beautiful traditional Christmas and soldier nutcrackers. The museum entry fee is inexpensive, we paid $7 for two seniors and two kids. Museum hours are limited, so check the website. Our 10 year old wasn't too enthused about going, but once in there, he was fascinated. There is a short video about the making of nutcrackers, as well as nutcrackers for sale.
The museum specializes in Nutcrackers of every kind and shape from around the world. Many of the ones from Germany are hand carved wooden crackers of all sizes and brightly painted as soldier figurines.
There is a 5 dollar per person charge for this fun little place. Amazing amount of nutcrackers lots of different styles. We almost didn't go because of the charge but we were glad we did. Fun way to spend an hour, lady running the place was friendly and helpful.
The shop there is fantastic for finding any type of Nutcracker you could possibly look for. Amazing details in each one. But get ready to spend a bundle most are $100+
For the very reasonable price of $2.50, you have the pleasure of viewing a ridiculous collection of over 6000 nutcrackers. The extensive collection features every kind of nutcracker you can imagine. They have a lovely collection of antique nutcrackers. There is a 15 min video that you can sit and watch to learn the history of nutcrackers and collecting. Some wonderful workmanship. I think my favourite were the Batman and Spock nutcrackers. Worth taking the time to visit