A few steps from the Market Square on the Herrngasse, the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Village (Weihnachtsdorf) is the flagship of the company that turned German Christmas decorations into a global export. Inside, a warren of rooms glows with glass baubles, Erzgebirge nutcrackers and incense smokers, music boxes, wooden candle pyramids and a Christmas tree that seems to rise through the building.
Upstairs, the German Christmas Museum (Deutsches Weihnachtsmuseum) traces how Germans have celebrated the season — from early tree decorations and Advent calendars to Santa figures and tinsel — with a collection that is more thoughtful than its setting might suggest. Both are open throughout the year, which is exactly why Rothenburg feels like Christmas even in July.
Top things to do: Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Village & German Christmas Museum
Browse the Christmas Village
Entry to the shop is free. Take your time: the rooms go back much further than the façade suggests, and the handmade ornaments range from inexpensive souvenirs to collector’s pieces.
Visit the German Christmas Museum
A small entrance fee buys you an hour among historic decorations, candle holders and tree ornaments. It is a calm counterpoint to the busy shop downstairs.
Plan it with the Christmas market
Visiting in Advent? Combine the store with the Reiterlesmarkt on the Market Square — they are two minutes apart.
How to get there
- Address: Herrngasse 1, just off the Market Square.
- From the station: about 12 minutes on foot.
- From the castle garden: 5 minutes back up the Herrngasse.
Insider tips
- Photography is not allowed inside the shop; respect the signs.
- It gets very crowded between 11:00 and 16:00 when the coach tours are in town — come early or late.
- Opening times are reduced on Sundays and some holidays outside the Christmas season; check before you plan a Sunday visit.
- The store can ship purchases abroad, which saves carrying fragile glass through the rest of your trip.
Best tours & tickets: Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Village & German Christmas Museum
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Village & German Christmas Museum and the rest of Rothenburg:
Seasonal walk from €235 per group Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Private Christmas Market Tour
A private stroll through one of Germany’s most atmospheric Christmas markets. Your guide explains the legend of the Reiterle, where the Advent traditions come from and which stalls are worth your money, then leaves you with a mug of mulled wine in hand.
- The Reiterlesmarkt with a local who knows every stall
- Advent traditions, Christmas history and local treats
- A private group of up to 15 people
Seasonal day trip from €108 Rothenburg & Würzburg: Romantic Christmas Moments
An Advent special that pairs Rothenburg’s Reiterlesmarkt with the Christmas market in Würzburg. You travel by modern coach with a guide, and have time in both towns to shop, eat and warm up with mulled wine.
- The Reiterlesmarkt in Rothenburg
- Würzburg’s Christmas market below the Marienkapelle
- Coach transport with a German/English guide
Day trip from €81 From Munich: Rothenburg and Romantic Road Day Trip by Bus
The best-selling way to see Rothenburg without a car. A coach takes you up the Romantic Road from Munich with stops at Harburg Castle, the meteorite crater of the Nördlinger Ries and Dinkelsbühl, then gives you the afternoon inside Rothenburg’s walls before driving back in the evening.
- Harburg Castle and the Nördlinger Ries crater on the way
- A stop in the walled town of Dinkelsbühl
- Free time to explore Rothenburg on your own
