Talented apprentice luthier Lachlan Rentsch discovers family ties to refined art

Mr Rentsch, who may be the only apprentice luthier in Australia, only just found out the refined art of making and repairing violins ran in his blood.

"My relative going back seven generations actually came from Markneukirchen," he said.

"That's significant because it was a very famous violin-making area in Germany. They used to make millions of stringed instruments there.

"I've always been interested in our family history and my great aunt did a lot of research and wrote a family book. I was following that back and I found out that's where my relative Magdelina came from."

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He said he was excited to hear the news.

"It's just really exciting," he said.

"I've always known about my German ancestry."

Mr Rentsch's teacher John Ferwerda, Australia's only classically trained luthier, said he couldn't believe the new development.

"He said he'd discovered his family had come from Markneukirchen," Mr Ferwerda said.

"I said, 'I don't believe you'. That is amazing and that's just something that doesn't happen.

"They used to have specific violin-making areas, one was in London, one was in Paris and one was in Dresden. Then they had Markneukirchen."

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