European Carving Festival takes place this month in Freiburg

The European Stone Carving Festival is coming home this year to Freiburg Technical College for Stonemasonry and Stone Carving in Germany, where it began. The Festival takes place 27-29 May. For details go to the website below.

The college has run the event in co-operation with other European stone organisations and institutions each year since 1999, but has taken the event on tour around Europe. It came to Canterbury Cathedral one year and last year was in France, in Saverne – a report was published in the June issue of Natural Stone Specialist. This year it returns home to Freiburg.

Since its inception, it has always attracted participants from the UK, as well as from across Europe. Last year there were about a dozen Union Jacks to be seen among the bankers of the 150 participants and Jim Holmyard, a recently-qualified stonemason from Bristol, won a runner-up prize for the ‘Rampant Unicorn’ shield he carved during the weekend event.

Participants are provided with blocks of stone 40 x 40 x 15cm and 40 x 40 x 25cm. Stonemasons and stone carvers may interpret the task to their own inspiration.

This year the event will take place in the Eschholz Park near the centre of Freiburg. Participants will have a maximum of 18 hours (Saturday/Sunday) to complete the task and should bring their own tools, sleeping bag and ground sheet or make other arrangements for their accommodation.

The entry fee (including meals on Saturday and Sunday) and accommodation is Euro35 for apprentices and Euro50 for qualified stonemasons and carvers. There is no extra charge for participation in the evening entertainment.

The cut-off date for entry is 29 April, but don’t wait. Applications should be made as soon as possible to assure your place.

Freiburg is in the Rhine valley at the gateway to the Black Forest mountains. It is renowned for its excellent wines and asparagus. France and Switzerland are also within easy reach. So make a break of it and enjoy the scenery.

One British company that will be there are handtool-makers G Gibson & Co, based in Leeds. They are sponsoring the event by providing eight prizes of tools for the various Awards.

They are also supplying all the carvers – and there are 160 of them booked so far – with a free tool each to use on their work during the festival and are hoping to have a stand to allow visitors to the Festival to try stone carving with their tools themselves, although the insurers have yet to verify that.