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Käthe Wohlfahrt - "The Mother
of all Christmas Stores" --Santa's Franconian Subsidiary
Welcome to the wonderful world of Käthe
Wohlfahrt, the world's most famous Christmas Store. For military,
diplomatic and other personnel fortunate enough to be stationed
in Germany or close by, Käthe Wohlfahrt's main store
in the walled, medieval city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber is
an easy drive. Just off Autobahn 7, it is about 90 minutes
from Stuttgart, Heidelberg and Frankfurt and less than an
hour from Nürnberg, Schweinfurt, or Würzburg.
Although Käthe Wohlfahrt is famous
throughout the world, its origins were humble. And the
US Military was right there at the beginning. It was more
than 40 years ago, when the late Wilhelm Wohlfahrt, a
refugee from Communist East Germany left his solid job
with IBM in the West to devote himself to bringing Eastern
German Christmas art and artifacts to the US Military
community. Enthusiastic American friends urged him to
sell his traditional, hand-made Christmas gift-wares at
military clubs, bazaars and fairs. Eventually, he opened
a store, named after his wife Käthe.
It didn't take long for the word to get out. Soon thousands
of American service personnel and their families descended
on Rothenburg to buy Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas decorations
and artifacts. Shopping tour buses followed. American
tourists joined the throng.
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Eventually Käthe Wohlfahrt established
subsidiaries in Oberammergau and Garmisch to accommodate
the American military tourist trade visiting the Armed
Forces Recreation Center. Outlets were founded in Heidelberg,
Nürnberg and Rüdesheim - favorite weekend destinations
for military personnel and their families. Locations were
established in Riquewihr/Alsace, France; Bruges, Belgium;
and, even in the USA in Stillwater, Minnesota.
Germany's Christmas Museum is also housed at Käthe
Wohlfahrt's. For just €4 per person (there are group,
family and children's discounts) you can experience twelve
centuries of Christmas in Germany. It's fascinating to
experience the earliest aspects of Christian celebration
from the early Middle Ages up to the present.
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Käthe Wohlfahrt
also has stores at Pach Barracks, Stuttgart; Ramstein AFB;
Heidelberg Main PX Area; the Christmas market at Vogelweh
in Kaiserslautern and at Würzburg's Leighton Barracks
PX. Allied service members are welcome, too.
The Käthe Wohlfahrt Catalog -- Something
for Short-timers, Guardsmen, Reservists, TDY personnel and
Normal Folks in a hurry…
in CONUS or at Duty Stations around the World.
With personnel continuously en route and re-assignments occurring
at a record pace and deployments and movements changing established
patterns, Käthe Wohlfahrt's mail order service not only
augments Christmas shopping, but may be the only chance to
obtain Wohlfahrt's top quality, beautiful Christmas merchandise.
The key to mail order shopping is its highly acclaimed, 160-page
Christmas Catalog.
A quick overview of the full color Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas
Catalog reveals more than 1,000 wonderful gifts and decorations.
Included are figurines, smokers, pyramids, wood carvings,
nutcrackers, décor elements, religious figures, angels,
snow men, chimney sweeps and candleholders. There are lots
of decorating and arrangements suggestions, too. Also, exclusive
products from Käthe Wohlfahrt's own design studio such
as the Holzknoddl smokers, Holzknackl nutcrackers, and many
wooden and pewter tree decorations from Wohlfahrt's Rothenburg-Christmas-Workshop.
The comprehensive overview with hand carvings from South Tyrol
as well as new and traditional woodwork form eastern Germany
is unparalleled.
The award-winning Käthe Wohlfahrt Catalog is the next
best thing to Rothenburg. It costs $5 and may be the best
Christmas investment you've ever made. Share it with friends
and family by placing your order, and sending one as a free
gift. What a wonderful way to enhance your own and someone
else's Christmas - anywhere in the world. Just Call: ++49
(0) 9861 409 150 or email:
[email protected]
To take advantage of the mail order service, all you need
is a major credit card and a civilian street address. No POB's,
APO's or FPO's, please. Rapid delivery service assures orders
arriving within a week or 10 days world-wide.
Whether you are permanent party or only briefly in Germany
or close by, Käthe Wohlfahrt stores welcome you to an
unforgettable experience.
Käthe Wohlfahrt GmbH & Co OHG
Herrngasse 1
91541 Rothenburg ob der Tauber
mailto: [email protected]
http://www.wohlfahrt.com/
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