This artistic candle holder in empire style carved from a single piece of wood with criss-crossing garlands and acanthus leaves is painted in vivid yellow, red and green. The base on three legs rises up like a pyramid and lends the candle holder a stable, yet elegant look. Carved frames and partially turned candle holders were an important area of production for the Val Gardena art industry in the 18th and 19th centuries. 

This delicately figure of an impishly grinning Krampus carved from pear wood carries a basket to keep cigarettes in. It was made by the sculptor Franz Insam de Cësanueva from Santa Cristina, who created a series of items popular throughout the whole Habsburg empire in the 1870s - not only items such as this one for tobacco consumers, but nutcrackers, too. 

Horse and rider are standing on a pedestal, yet not attached, with a lead weight helping them to keep their balance. The figurine swings when nudged, but still stays up there. The acrobat, turning a circle once nudged, works on the same principle. It is not possible to identify the carvers of these toys, as they are anonymous.

This cultural asset is part of the tour "St. Ulrich: a stroll through the village centre and its history".

This jointed horse with rider was made from stained nut wood by Josef Insam's company at Neuhaus in Santa Cristina and was put together using 104 individual pieces. Jointed, turned figurines (for academic purposes or puppets) were produced to a height of 201 cm. Their ball-and-socket joints allowed numerous body positions and they were intended for painters and sculptors, schools and academies.

These pecking hens show that artisan production goes to make up a lot of the value and appeal of wooden toys. When large factories started to manufacture toys cheaply, prices for hand-made toys wooden toys decreased, and Val Gardena producers struggled financially. This is another reason why, after 1870, production gradually turned to wood carving and sacred items coinciding with the foundation of the art school. 

For a long time, dancing battle horses were children's favourite toys at the time of the Habsburg empire, with the items to be painted sent to Oberammergau at first. It was not until 1800 that the people of Val Gardena came up with the procedure for the right composition of colour and varnish. And even then, only certain items like doll's heads and rocking horses were painted, mainly by women.

Pinocchio and Fortunello demonstrate how political change, the vicissitudes of the market, as well as fashion and technology, taste and educational methods have influenced the development of wooden toys in Val Gardena. Vinzenz Senoner's (Vastlè, Selva Gardena) SEVI company managed to keep pace with the societal changes of the 20th century and adapt to new markets with a supply of high-quality products.

Mobile fish, red elephants, ducks to tow: designers from Italy and German were always developing new motifs commissioned by SEVI. New technology allowed the expansion of the product range and materials, too. This is how SEVI had the whole children's toy area covered. Yet the products still kept their originality and had artistic impact. 

Most toys from Val Gardena were mass produced, yet there were also some carefully made unique items, like this post wagon with access door, double shafts, yellow varnishing and the writing 'K.K. Post'. As of 1856, post wagons accessed Val Gardena on the road through the valley, and in 1867 Val Gardena was joined up with the Brennero railway via Ponte Gardena, which made doing business in the valley a lot easier.

Pulling toys like these fighting goats were called 'tica-taca' in the Ladin language. In its heyday before 1914, the Val Gardena range comprised up to 500 articles, including dolls, horses, carts, waggon, hampelmans, marble games, tightrope walking toys, acrobats and all kinds of figurines. There was no protection of designs, and items could be copied by other producers.