Jonathan Quearney

I have just been on holiday in the South East of Germany near Dresden in Saxony. Apart from being a beautiful area with stunning architecture, it also gives its name to a type of merino wool!

In 1765 Ferdinand VI of Spain gave some Escurial merino sheep to Prince Xavier the Elector of Saxony and these were then interbred with the Saxon sheep to produce the Saxony Merino or Electoral Merino. These sheep produced a very fine, dense, soft yarn which made German wool famous as the best in the world.

Many Saxony merinos were exported and they form one of the bloodlines for many of the extrafine merino strains today. Germany is no longer considered a source for the finest Saxony type wool - that is now produced in Australia and, to a certain extent, South Africa. By using Saxony wool, mills can get a lovely soft handle on the cloth which is preferred by some who think that wool is a bit scratchy.