Seiffen (dpa/sn) – With the series production of DKW brand motorcycles 100 years ago, Saxony’s rise to the temporary number 1 motorcycle manufacturer in the world began. At the end of the anniversary year, the Seiffen craftsman Siegfried Werner dedicated a figurine to DKW founder Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen (1878-1964). The 8 centimeter tall wooden Rasmussen is shown next to an engine. According to Werner, it is based on the auxiliary motors that were once built by DKW and could be mounted on the luggage rack of bicycles as an auxiliary drive – popularly known as “ass warmers”. From 1922 complete motorcycles were built in Zschopau.

The anniversary year of the DKW motorcycles was the reason for the new figure, explained Werner on Tuesday. His company has immortalized other historical personalities in miniature, such as King Augustus the Strong, Countess Kosel and the natural scientist Alexander von Humboldt as well as the composer Richard Wagner. And Rasmussen could soon be followed by another personality from Saxon industrial history, Werner reveals: the car pioneer August Horch.