A Guide To Installations And Services

Käthe Wohlfahrt - the World Famous Christmas Store

On-premise, online and catalog shopping

With some 30,000 individual items from which to choose, ranging from small to giant pyramids, glass and metal bulb decorations, birds and flowers, intricately hand-carved figures and rare collectors' items, Käthe Wohlfahrt is the premier place to shop for Christmas decorations and other specialties.

There are several shops in Germany. They can be found in Berlin, Heidelberg, Rüdesheim (by Wiesbaden), Nürnberg, Bamberg and Oberammergau (2 locations). There are also shops in Bruges, Belgium and Riquewihr, France. Shops are also on US military bases in Ramstein, Stuttgart-Boeblingen and Grafenwoehr.

And, of course, there is the main outlet and headquarters in Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany.

As delightful and nostalgic as the city of Rothenburg and the cities with the other shops are, you need not travel to Germany to obtain your Christmas decorations and gifts.

Wohlfahrt's On-line Shop awaits you. You can also order quickly and conveniently from home under www.bestofchristmas.com. They do, indeed, offer more than just the Christmas items. You can also order a print version of the special Christmas Catalog from the website. (The catalog is available in October of each year.)

Some of the specialty gift items available are the Rothenburg-Workshop-Studios' Holzknackl® Nutcrackers, Holzknoddl® "Smoking men," Glass- and Pewter items, and Rothenburger Butzl® carved wooden figurines. The latter are easily identified by their round features, faces and tummies.

There are also rotating music boxes with shepherd motifs incorporating Swiss-made works as well as made-to-measure candles.

In addition to traditional Christmas items, Wohlfahrt also offers a special "Limited Edition" line that includes the "Magic of Nature" and "Children of the World" figurines.

Whether it's rustic flavor or historical veracity, exquisite sophistication or the idealized delight of Christmases past, Käthe Wohlfahrt brings you its own very special World of Christmas. Best of all, it's only a mouse-click away!

German Christmas Museum

Headquartered above the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Market is the German Christmas Museum. More than 200,000 guests from around the world have passed through 12 centuries of German Christmases documented and preserved in its six exhibition halls to date.

The tour shows the very humble, symbolic, thoroughly religious beginnings of Christian practices in the 9th Century and documents the evolution of the celebration through medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and modern times. Aspects of earlier practices used by non-Christian faiths found throughout the Roman Empire and later incorporated into Christmas celebration are also explained.

The parallel paths of Saint Nikolaus and the Weihnachtsmann or Father Christmas and the development of Santa Claus can likewise be traced as well as the forms of gift-giving and rewards for good behavior.

Käthe Wohlfahrt GmbH & Co. OHG
Herrngasse 1
91541 Rothenburg ob der Tauber Germany

Tel: 0 98 61-40 90
Fax: 0 98 61-40 94 10
E-mail: info@wohlfahrt.com
Website: www.wohlfahrt.com
Christmas Museum: www.weihnachtsmuseum.de