Käthe-Wohlfahrt () is a German company that sells

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

decorations and articles. Its head office is in

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

in Bavaria. According to the tourism site for the state of Bavaria, "the unique Christmas store with more than 30,000 traditional German Christmas decorations... has attracted millions of tourists from all over the world." Founded in 1964 in

Herrenberg Herrenberg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Härrabärg'' or ''Haerebärg'') is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 30 km south of Stuttgart and 20 km from Tübingen. After Sindelfingen, Böblingen, and Leonberg, it ...

near

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

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

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

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 Christmastide, Christmas season, of ar ...

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, a nutcracker doll ...

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 (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

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 of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, 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 (region), Darmstadt, Hessen. Know ...

. In addition there are branches in

Riquewihr Riquewihr (; Alsatian: ; ) 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 wines produced in the ...

in France, in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

in Belgium, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

in Spain, on Stonegate in

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

in the United Kingdom, and in

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

, United States. It also runs stalls at

Christmas market A Christmas market is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, but are now held in many countries. Some in the U.S. have Phono-semantic matching, adapted ...

s. In addition to the Stillwater store in the United States, Kathe Wohlfahrt of America also has seasonal stores at Christmas markets in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

; 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. Its parent company in Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a destination for many tourists from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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