Käthe-Wohlfahrt () is a German company that sells

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

-decorations and -articles. Its head-office is in

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the ...

in Bavaria. According to the tourism-site for the state of Bavaria, ''"the unique Christmas store with more than 30000 traditional German Christmas decorations ... has attracted millions of tourists from all over the world."'' Founded in 1964 in

Herrenberg Herrenberg ( Swabian: ''Härrabärg'' or ''Haerebärg'') is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, about 30 km south of Stuttgart and 20 km from Tübingen. After Sindelfingen, Böblingen, and Leonberg, it is the fourth largest t ...

near Stuttgart by the husband and wife couple, Wilhelm and Käthe Wohlfahrt, it was taken over by their son, Harald. The firm moved from

to the medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1977. In their main shop in Rothenburg ob der Tauber there is a Christmas Museum and a Christmas exhibition. Amongst its extensive range of products are

candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candle ...

s, Christmas tree decorations,

nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmas season, of art objects rep ...

s and

nutcracker A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells. A decorative version portrays a person w ...

s. The shop is open all year long and claims to have the world's largest selection of traditional German Christmas ornaments.''Käthe Wohlfahrt - The World Famous Christmas Store''
at www.wohlfahrt.de. Accessed on 11 Dec 2010. The firm has a chain of shops in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, Bamberg,

Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, and

Rüdesheim am Rhein Rüdesheim am Rhein is a German winemaking town in the Rhine Gorge, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in this region. It lies in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt, Hessen. Known as Rüdesheim, i ...

. In addition there are branches in

Riquewihr Riquewihr (; Alsatian: ; german: Reichenweier ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. A popular tourist attraction for its historical architecture, Riquewihr is also known for the Riesling and other win ...

in France, in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

in Belgium, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in Spain, on Stonegate in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in the United Kingdom, and also in

Stillwater, Minnesota Stillwater is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Washington County. It is in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, on the west bank of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), St. Croix River, across from H ...

(USA). It also runs stalls at

Christmas market A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...

s. In addition to the Stillwater, Minnesota store in the United States, Kathe Wohlfahrt of America also has seasonal stores at Christmas markets in Arlington, Texas, Baltimore, Maryland, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tyson Corner, Virginia, Chicago, Illinois, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as well as a Canadian location in Vancouver. The company is very well known outside the German-speaking region. Even its parent-company in Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a tourist-destination for many tourists from Japan and the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and a visit to Käthe-Wohlfahrt is often included as part of their Germany- or European-tours.

References

External links

Wohlfahrt home page

Kathe Wohlfahrt of America home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kathe Wohlfahrt Retail companies of Germany Rothenburg ob der Tauber