Exempla 2024

>> Download the complete official Handwerk & Design 2024 Program including the Munich City Map & Metro Plan.


The use and mastery of materials is a fundamental trait of craftsmanship. Natural materials such as wood, clay or stone have played an important role for thousands of years and are still cultivated and their processing refined today.

In archaeology, certain materials are used to determine and date important epochs of mankind. The Stone Age, Bronze Age and Copper Age are well-known examples. Major innovations have always been important and had a decisive influence on the development of craft techniques. In the Palaeolithic period, the Palaeolithic Age, man began to make everyday life easier for himself by making stone tools. Examples from the Munich State Archaeological Collection document this epoch in an exemplary fashion.

Since this time, the use of natural stone has been an important element in craftsmanship. All major civilisations around the world have used natural stone to create works of lasting value. The pyramids, Stonehenge and, in the Middle Ages, cathedrals such as those in Chartres, Reims and Paris still bear witness today to how important stone was and is as a material.

Exempla 2024 will therefore focus on the topic of natural stone and use examples to demonstrate the role this material plays in craftsmanship today. The focus will range from road construction to art, and wherever craftsmanship is important.

Roads and squares paved with stone have been handed down from the Babylonians, Egyptians and Romans since ancient times. They paved paths and roads and made them usable for traffic. In the Middle Ages, sophisticated forms of paving were developed in special squares in the centres of cities and stone formats were adapted to the respective requirements, but also had a decorative function through the shape and colour of the paving stones.

The extraordinary possibilities of natural stone as a material can often be seen in the works of artists who have specialised in this material. Jo Kley, a stone sculptor from Kiel, creates monumental sculptures from granite. At EXMEPLA 2024, he will be demonstrating his working methods.

Stones of very special value are still processed in Idar-Oberstein today. The small town in Rhineland-Palatinate has been the German centre for gemstone processing and jewellery made from stones for centuries. Graduates from the Department of Design, Jewellery and Gemstones at Trier University of Applied Sciences, based in Idar-Oberstein, will be demonstrating various gemstone processing techniques. In addition, Georg Dobler from Halle and Bettina Speckner from Übersee am Chiemsee will set up their workbenches at EXEMPLA 2024 and show how they process a wide variety of stones in their artistic jewellery. Both are internationally renowned for their use of stones in jewellery.

The professions of stonemason and stone sculptor will receive special attention at EXEMPLA 2024: The State Technical College for Stone Techniques and Design Wunsiedel in the Fichtelgebirge and other training centres and companies will offer an insight into the diverse tasks and training of these professions. The three Bavarian cathedral building centres in Bamberg, Passau and Regensburg, which work day in, and day out to preserve the great cathedrals in Bavaria, will also be present at EXEMPLA, as will the company Franken-Schotter. The company will be showing natural stone walls at the trade fair, such as those found in vineyards or in some historic old towns.

The limestone slab roofs of the so-called Jura houses around Eichstätt also have a long tradition. Only a few craft businesses still have the knowledge of roofing with stone slabs – new talent is urgently needed. The company Karl Gabler Bedachungen will be demonstrating on site how the stone roof tradition lives on in the spirit of monument preservation.

Bamberg-based natural stone manufacturer Hermann Graser is presenting a new application for natural stone: Among other things, the company builds charging stations for electric vehicles made of natural stone, which can be used in listed historic city centre ensembles, for example. Another future project of the Bamberg natural stone works is the construction of houses using solid stone technology without insulating materials.

Granite from the Bavarian Forest and the Fichtel Mountains, marble from Laas in South Tyrol, Elbe sandstone and Jura limestone from Solnhofen: each stone has its own individual colour and grain, and the local geological conditions have given rise to site-specific aesthetics and building styles that still have an identity-forming effect today.

South Tyrol, for example, is home to the famous and highly prized marble from Laas, which is particularly popular with artists due to its outstanding quality. For this reason, a school was founded in Laas as early as 1879. Students at today's Johannes Steinhäuser Vocational School for stone carving in Laas provide an insight into the work of a stone sculptor.

Visitors can also see the full aesthetic diversity of natural stone thanks to the Mineralogia collection: The Munich museum displays some of the most beautiful specimens in its collection. One of the most unusual applications of stone makes use of the beauty of these stones – namely their colour: the chemist Georg Kremer produces pigments from minerals. From his headquarters in Aichstetten in the Allgäu region, Kremer Pigmente sells colour pigments for artists and craftsmen all over the world.

The EXEMPLA special show is organised by the Chamber of Crafts for Munich and Upper Bavaria. The exhibition is sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action based on a resolution of the German Bundestag.

The subject of Exempla is chosen each year anew referring to current trends and themes in the area of crafts. Each year new exhibitors are selected and invited to participate. Therefore it is not possible to apply for participation in Exempla.


Bavarian States Prize (Friday, 1st March, 2 p.m)

• Every exhibitor at the International Trade Fair can apply for the Bavarian States Prize.
• The Bavarian States Prize is awarded 5,000 Euros, a gold medal, and a certificate.

The Prize will be given on the 2nd of March at 4:30 pm.


Organisation and Funding:
Promoter: GHM – Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH.
Administration: Barbara Schmidt, Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern.
Organisation: Dr. Angela Böck, Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern
Organised by order of the Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen.
We are grateful for the support provided by the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Energy.