Germany has a special place in festive folklore dating back to Dresden’s Striezelmarkt in 1434, Europe’s first Christmas market. Christmas food in Germany is an essential part of this tradition, and as Advent markets spread across the country, they became the perfect place to sample traditional dishes and savor the season.
Dresden’s Streizelmarkt wrote the first chapter of a rich history. Taking its name from the streizel bread sold at the market, communal feasting was promoted to the centerpiece of Christmas markets.
Today, an array of comforting German Christmas dishes lures millions of revelers onto chilly squares for Advent. Some have become icons of Christmas markets across the globe.
German Christmas Food Favorites: Bratwurst, Stollen & Lebkuchen
Among the familiar delights and regional specialties to excite appetites at Christmas markets in Germany, several are nationwide favorites.
Grilled bratwurst sausages add their alluring aroma to festivities everywhere during Advent. Of course, a love of bratwurst transcends seasons in Germany. But wandering around historic squares, fizzing with life, hits differently with a bratwurst roll in one hand and a goblet of glühwein in the other.
Regional bratwurst variations deliver twists on a national classic as you roam around the country. The bratwurst champion is the Nürnberger rostbratwurst. The first city to produce the famous sausage is also home to Germany’s most celebrated Christmas market, making it one of many reasons Nuremberg attracts millions of Advent revelers.
Another of Nuremberg’s great contributions to Christmas food in Germany is the Nürnberger Lebkuchen.
Germany’s answer to gingerbread likely originated in Franconia long before the first Christmas markets. Nuremberg’s bakers refined the recipes. Elisen Lebkuchen, named after a baker’s daughter from Nuremberg called Elisabeth, is considered Germany’s best.
Lebkuchen gets its distinctive flavor from honey, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Soft yet chewy lebkuchen, or pfefferkuchen, is often coated in chocolate or a sugar glaze and comes in various forms, from cookies to giant hearts; the perfect stocking fillers to take home.
Another traditional German Christmas food forever associated with a legendary Christmas market is Weihnachtsstollen, Christmas stollen. Dense and spicy, studded with fruit and often marzipan, then dusted in sugar like winter landscapes, stollen is the quintessential German Christmas food.
An early type of stollen, streizel, was the headline food at the world’s first Christmas market in Dresden. Regionally designated Dresdener stollen remains the best-known version. They even host an annual stollen festival in honor of one of the essential Christmas foods in Germany.
Germany Holiday Festive Drinks: Glühwein and More
The pervasive scent of spicy glühwein pervades Germany’s Christmas markets. No germany holidays experience is complete without it. ‘Glowing wine’, the characteristically evocative German name for mulled wine, is the drink of the season. Every season.
While ancient Romans once sipped versions of mulled wine, this iconic ambrosia has washed down Christmas food in Germany for generations.
While non-alcoholic versions cater to all, glühwein is typically made with red wine and warmed with cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and orange peel. Mugs with city scenes and motifs provide a souvenir made for refills.
Look out for glühbier that swaps grape for hops for a beer-based spin that will always have fans in Germany.
A drink that literally glows is Feuerzangenbowle. ‘Fire-tongs punch’ is as German as stollen and bratwurst, albeit a 20th-century creation. As much spectacle as drink, a lump of rum-soaked sugarloaf is suspended over mulled wine and set alight. Dripping caramelized sugar makes an elaborate infusion that has gone from curiosity to the most exciting drink at Germany’s Christmas markets.
Eierpunsch is another warming highlight of German Christmas drinks. A not-too-distant cousin of eggnog, eierpunsch blends white wine with vanilla-infused egg custard. A comforting embrace of indulgence and seasonal cheer that typifies Christmas food in Germany.
Regional German Christmas Dishes to Fuel Festive Tours
There are many contrasts to discover when touring Germany at Christmas. The variety of settings. Or the quirky customs dating back centuries, like those highlighted in our companion guide to German Christmas traditions. Regional variations on Christmas food in Germany add their own seasoning to the experience.
We mentioned how Nuremberg bratwurst is the headline food at Germany’s most famous Christmas market. But regional twists are found in Thuringia and particularly around Franconia.
Lebkuchen comes in many forms and regional variations. Aachener Printen from the spa city Aachen is another beloved take on German gingerbread.
Alongside regional twists on the greatest hits are an array of German Christmas dishes in different regions.
Kartoffelpuffer, moreish potato fritters doused in apple sauce, are specialities of Rhineland cities like Cologne.
Pretzels, or brezel in German, were nibbled on centuries before the first Christmas market. While you’re never far from a bakery selling pretzels in Germany, the same is true of Christmas markets. Sweet or savory, an array of toppings distinguish varieties from the Rhineland to Bavaria.
Another German Christmas food exported from Bavaria is germknödel, sweet dumplings coated in poppy seeds, sugar, and sometimes vanilla cream. Similar to Dampfnudel, dumplings, often topped with fruit, are found in Bavaria and neighboring countries.
An all-season favorite commonly seen at German Christmas markets is käsespätzle, a pasta and cheese combo to delight mac n cheese fans.
Christmas food in Germany has also absorbed flavors from around Europe. Gastronomic imports popular at German Christmas markets include melting raclette dishes, apple fritters from Switzerland, and flammekuche tarts from Alsace, in France.
Where to Try German Christmas Food at Christmas Markets
A gastronomic journey through german christmas food is one of the joys of traveling around German cities during Advent. Whether you’re exploring germany holidays for the first time or returning for another festive season, it’s a conveyor belt of temptations made possible by Germany’s expansive rail network.
All cities benefit from excellent rail connections across the country, offering practical, relaxed, and efficient options to thread together sample German Christmas foods at a medley of Christmas markets.
Our complete rail travel packages plan flowing, relaxed festive itineraries. We reserve first-class seats on the connections you need and exclusive hotels selected for convenient access to Christmas markets and train stations.
A pre-crafted itinerary like our German Christmas market tour paints the Yuletide picture on an eight-night festive odyssey from Munich to Cologne via Nuremberg and Augsburg.
The frequency and variety of connections on German rail also prompt travelers to craft their unique Christmas market itineraries. Our travel specialists tailor every package, letting you savor the German Christmas foods and experiences that matter.
Our post exploring the perfect German Christmas market rail itinerary is packed with ideas. More itineraries ideal for sampling German Christmas dishes in their homeland and beyond fill our ultimate guide to visiting Christmas markets in Europe by train.
Ask our rail specialists for a tailored itinerary showcasing the traditions and Christmas food in Germany that have inspired festivities across Europe for centuries.
Frequently Asked Questions About German Christmas Food
What is the most famous German Christmas food?
Weihnachtsstollen (Christmas stollen) is arguably the most iconic German Christmas food -a dense, spiced fruit bread dusted in icing sugar that dates back to the world’s first Christmas market in Dresden. Lebkuchen (German gingerbread) and bratwurst are also essential festive staples found at Christmas markets across Germany.
What do Germans drink at Christmas markets?
Glühwein (mulled wine) is the signature drink of Germany’s Christmas markets, served hot in collectible ceramic mugs. Other popular festive drinks include eierpunsch (a warm egg and white wine punch), feuerzangenbowle (a rum-flamed mulled wine spectacular), and glühbier, a beer-based alternative.
Which German Christmas market is best for food?
Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt is widely considered the best for traditional German Christmas food, famous for its Nürnberger rostbratwurst and Elisen Lebkuchen. Dresden is the home of Dresdener Stollen, the gold standard of Christmas stollen. Cologne is known for Kartoffelpuffer (potato fritters) and its lively Rhine-side atmosphere.
