Wender·Vista
Leavenworth Bavarian village at Christmas
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileWashington
in the Wenatchee River valley, the first weekend of December

Leavenworth Bavarian village at Christmas

— a small town that turns into light.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Leavenworth was a logging town that lost the railroad in 1925 and almost died, then chose in 1962 to rebuild itself as a Bavarian village along the model of Solvang, California. The architecture is theatrical; the snow is real. On the first three weekends of December the town hangs about 500,000 lights and crowds fill Front Street. The Wenatchee River runs cold past the edge of town, the Cascades close behind. People come from Seattle, from Spokane, from every corner of the dry side of Washington.

from the studio
Leavenworth Bavarian village at Christmas
— bring it home

Leavenworth Bavarian village at Christmas, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Leavenworth Bavarian village at Christmas

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Leavenworth is a town of about 2,200 in Chelan County, Washington, set on the Wenatchee River where US-2 crosses the Cascades east of Stevens Pass. The town began as a Great Northern Railway division point and a Lamb-Davis lumber mill town in the early 1900s. After the railroad was rerouted in 1925 the population collapsed; by the 1950s most storefronts on Front Street were vacant. In 1962 a citizen committee began the Bavarian conversion under what became known as Project LIFE, modelled in part on Solvang, California. Today the town's chief economy is tourism, and the Cascade peaks rising west put a real mountain skyline behind the painted facades.

— the light

Lighting on Front Street and Front Street Park totals roughly 500,000 bulbs during the Christmas Lighting Festival, held the first three weekends of December. The lights stay up through February. The bandstand turns on with a countdown each evening at 4:30 p.m. The festival began in 1968, six years after the Bavarian conversion, and has grown into Leavenworth's largest annual event: most December weekends draw tens of thousands of visitors to a town of 2,200. The light on the Wenatchee River and on the surrounding granite, when there is snow, does the rest.

— the season

Christmas in Leavenworth begins the day after Thanksgiving and runs through the first weekend of February. The Lighting Festival is the headline, on the first three weekends of December, but the lights stay up through Icicle Fest in mid-January and through Bavarian Icefest the last full weekend of January. Snowfall in town averages around 56 inches per winter; the surrounding ridges hold snow far longer. Stevens Pass Ski Area, about 35 miles west on US-2, draws skiers through the same window. Day visitors usually arrive after lunch and stay through the 4:30 p.m. lighting.

— where
United States · Chelan County, Washington
— elevation
356 m · 1,168 ft
— position
47.5963° N · 120.6615° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
40 km NW
Lake Wenatchee
glacial lake
55 km W
Stevens Pass
alpine pass and ski area
30 km SW
The Enchantments
alpine lakes basin
5 km SW
Icicle Creek
river canyon
35 km E
Wenatchee
regional city
N
Leavenworth Bavarian village at Christmas
Lake Wenatchee
Stevens Pass
The Enchantments
Icicle Creek
Wenatchee
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Leavenworth Bavarian village at Christmas — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Leavenworth sits in Chelan County in north-central Washington, on US-2 about two hours east of Seattle, where the highway crosses the eastern slopes of the Cascades. The Wenatchee River runs through town. The Bavarian-themed downtown lines Front Street.

The town was originally a Great Northern Railway division point and a sawmill town that nearly collapsed after the railroad was rerouted in 1925. In 1962 a citizen committee began rebuilding the downtown as a Bavarian village, partly modelled on Solvang, California. Tourism replaced timber, and the rebuild succeeded.

The first three weekends of December. The bandstand countdown lights the town at 4:30 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday of the festival; the lights stay up through Bavarian Icefest in late January, and many strings stay on into February.

Roughly 500,000 bulbs are strung across Front Street and Front Street Park during the Lighting Festival, with smaller installations along US-2 and on the surrounding shops and inns. Most stay up through early February.

The Wenatchee River runs through town for fly fishing and summer rafting; Stevens Pass Ski Area is 35 miles west on US-2 for downhill skiing; the Icicle Creek canyon south of town leads to the Enchantments, one of the densest concentrations of subalpine larch and granite peaks in Washington.

The town itself averages roughly 56 inches of snowfall per winter. The surrounding ridges hold more, and Stevens Pass averages over 460 inches. Snow on the Bavarian rooflines is reliable through most of the holiday window.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. December in Leavenworth is one of the most-loved December weekends in Washington. A Coaster Set or Small piece works for someone who has stood through the 4:30 lighting; a Large carries the warmth of the painted facades and the snow.

The piece reads warm amber, deep red, and snow blue, which sits well with Traditional, Christmas-classic, and Cottage interiors. The colour is warm without being saccharine; it works as a December anchor or stays up through January.

Yes. The warm Bavarian palette reads through plaid, velvet, brass, and dark wood, all current in cozy maximalist styling. It works as a hearth-side anchor or in an entryway facing the front door.

A single Large above a console; a 4-tile Mural above a standard sofa; the 9-tile Mural for long sofas or great-room walls. For a hearth surround above the mantel, customers often pair a Medium with a Coaster Set.

Yes. Dura Satin or Matte is the right finish for backsplashes, showers, and any vertical wet install. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, so steam and splash do not affect it.

Microfibre and water for dust. Damp cloth with mild dish soap in a kitchen. No abrasives.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted by Reid Wender, the studio's curator, in our distinctive stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language. The work is not licensed from anywhere.

— if this one stayed with you

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