The closest English equivalent of the German word Elfenreigen would be “fairy round dance,” although Elfenreigen is also sometimes translated as “dance of the elves.” “Carlsberg” may have been the location where this photo was taken. A very kind visitor to the blog (bradwardine42) left a comment under the post with the following information:
I found a website showing some postcards from a publisher called Alfred Jantke, in a place called “Heuscheuer Karlsberg”. So I think the place is Karłów (in German “Karlsberg” or “Carlsberg”, in Czech “Kalasperk” or “Karlovec”), in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
The Lower Silesian Voivodeship is a province (voivodeship) in southwestern Poland which borders Germany to the west and Czechia to the south.
The photo was printed on paper manufactured by the German company Leonar, based in Hamburg. I found a mention online of the stamp on the back being used by the company between 1920 and 1925, but I haven’t been able to confirm those years.
Page last updated: May 17, 2019.
Tokens of Companionship 
Fascinating picture. I wonder if the children were told to close their eyes. My Mum told me her friends father was a press photographer and when he took their pictures he told them to close their eyes or look away from the flash.
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They must have been told to close them. I’ve seen portraits of large groups where everyone is looking to one side or the other, which is an interesting effect. In this case they probably didn’t want the kids to look to the side, so the photographer had them close their eyes. Thanks for your comment!
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The only Carlsberg that springs to my mind is the lager (pilsner beer) brewed by the Danish company of that name. And I looked online to see what if anything the name ‘Fantke’ brought up and, while it’s obviously not that person as it’s modern, there’s a person called Peter Fantke who comes up often in the search results and he seems to be from Denmark. So maybe the German connection is just the publisher and not the content? (or it could just all be coincidental!)
Great photo. If it’s a fairy dance, I wonder if it might be part of a school production of Midsummer Night’s Dream or something similar. The kids do look school age, though the scenery looks a little too sophisticated for a school.
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On the other hand, there’s a kindergarten in Berlin called Elfenreigen, so maybe it was originally a school? You could contact them and ask.
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If I remember correctly, I bought the photo from a dealer in Berlin, but it could certainly have originated in Denmark or elsewhere.
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I found a website showing some postcards from a publisher called Alfred Jantke, in a place called “Heuscheuer Karlsberg”. So I think the place is Karłów (in German “Karlsberg” or “Carlsberg”, in Czech “Kalasperk” or “Karlovec”), in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
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That’s very interesting, thank you! I never would have found that. I probably thought the name was “Fantke” because the first letter looks like a backward “F.” I’ll correct the name in the post.
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