Fairytale Christmas in Waldbreitbach, Germany
German Village's Christmas Star and Crib in Guinness Book of Records
Oct 15, 2009
Waldbreitbach has a traditional Christmas Market and boasts a giant Christmas Star and Christmas Crib during December and January which are both in the Guinness Book of Records.
Waldbreitbach Star in Guinness Book of Records
The Waldbreitbach Christmas star is so large that it earned itself a place in the Guinness Book of Records, being made of a 3-mile string of 3500 lights placed on 12-foot high poles around the village. Seen from the nearby hillside it twinkles brightly over the village which lies on the little River Wied amidst deep green forests.
Everyone helps with the preparations, erecting the poles in the shape of a six-pointed star of Jersusalem and then hanging the lights on them. As darkness falls the effect is magical.
Walbreitbach Hoteliers Had the Idea
Several years ago two of the village’s hoteliers, Jurgen Grunwald at the Hotel zur Post and Gustel Hertling at the Sporthotel had the idea of creating the star to make Waldbreitbach a really special place to be at Christmastime.
World’s Largest Christmas Crib in Guinness Book of Records
But the star is not the only record-breaker in Waldbreitbach which is only a few miles from the Rhine. It also got itself into the Guinness Book of Records for having the world’s largest Christmas crib, a stable in Bethlehem ingeniously made out of pieces of tree root, bark and plants, complete with over 100 figures - shepherds, villagers, animals and angels.
Covering 92 square metres, it is displayed at Chrismastime each year in the Waldbreitbach parish church.
Chritsmas Cribs in Waldbreitbach
In addition a unique collection of over one thousand other Christmas cribs of various sizes made from all sorts of materials are permanently on display in the village museum nearby. Collected by Gustel Hertling from around the world, some are hundreds of years old, others modern.
Villagers also put their own cribs on display in their windows around the village. Others are installed along a woodland trail which leads to the village’s Franciscan Monastery.
Waldbreitbach’s Christmas Market and Giant Advent Calender
The centrepiece of Waldbreitbach’s Christmas market, held on the second and third weekends of December, is a 8-metre high Christmas pyramid, typical of areas in Germany where wood-carving is a tradition. It has five revolving tiers of colourfully-painted figures such as shepherds with their sheep, wise men and camels.
Small versions of it are sold at the Christmas market as well as wooden toys and decorations, together with several varieties of the local schnapps, waffles and of course hot mulled wine and long grilled sausages.
Waldbreitbach’s Advent Calendar
Waldbreitbach’s fourth claim to Christmas fame is a giant advent calender. This occupies an entire wall of one the picturesque half-timbered houses and each day a villager climbs a ladder to open one of the windows.
Also adding to the seasonal festivities, Walbreitbach has a huge new 23-bell Glockenspiel that can play 60 different tunes. During December it ‘performs’ five times each day.
Waldbreitbach for Exploring the Rhine Valley
At any time of year the village makes a good base for exploring, particularly on foot, the scenic middle stretch of the Rhine valley between Bonn and Koblenz where vineyards drop down to the river and the hills are topped by castles.
Linz, one of the area’s most picturesque old half-timbered towns, is eight miles away.
But at Christmastime Waldbreitbach it is definitely one the best places in Europe to get into festive mood..
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