Long metal plates, bags of plastic and thick solid wood planks fill the raw materials warehouse at Weltmeister Akkordeon Manufaktur in Klingenthal. Here they are processed into 3,500 individual parts and assembled into an accordion. The oldest accordion manufactory in the world still has 40 employees. They carefully manufacture all the many individual parts of the instrument. Accuracy and precision are essential, and this requires many years of experience. Even half a millimeter of misalignment in the assembly would be unacceptable in accordion making.
At the factory in Vogtland, retirees pass on their knowledge to the young generation of hand-pull instrument makers, from building the frame in the joinery to fine-tuning the soundpost and customizing the bellows - everything takes place at the Weltmeister factory in Klingenthal. Accordion making is a complex business. No wonder, because a single instrument can be used to play melody, bass and accompaniment at the same time.
CREDITS:
Author: Monja Eigenschenk
Camera: Ole Flasshar, Markus Windmeier
Sound: Christian Baumann
Editing: Susanna Tomas
Graphic design: Katharina Flamm
Editors: Rolf Hüffer, Dorothee Eisinger
Social media editing: Land und Leute RP Online