Original Dresdner Christstollen and other Christmas specialities

Each one of our 'Original Dresdner Christstollen’ is made with love and passion for the baking trade and in accordance with a recipe, which was handed down through generation to the former owner Walter Säurig who is known as the former purveyor to the royal Saxon court. It is our highest priority to maintain this tradition and to preserve it for future generations.
 
Our Christmas specialities are unique in their quality and taste due to being produced by only using high-quality, exquisite ingredients, natural essences and exotic spices. Whether you like your Stollen buttered and sugared or in different flavours, our christmas specialities make the christmas time just perfect.

It is our pleasure to send our Christmas specialities, in well packed and padded parcels, to places all around the world and to see the people’s smile on their faces.

Please note that the Original Dresdner Christstollen is a trademarked product. Only when produced in Dresden and after passing a strict quality test, which is undertaken every year by the Trademark Protection Association Dresden Stollen ®, we are entitled to purchase the golden certificates which can be found on each of the protected products.

History of the Original Dresdner Christstollen

The tradition of baking the famous Chiststollen is said to be more than 700 years old. Historians can trace the story of the exquisite Christmas speciality, which was also called in Saxon’s capitol ‘Christbrod’, ‘Striezel’, ‘Strozel’ or ‘Struzel’, back to the year 1329. In 1427 it was presented to the Saxon court as Christstollen for the first time in recorded history. Ethnic interpretations see the fine sugared loaf as a symbol for baby Jesus, wrapped in a white cloth.

August the Strong started a tradition by ordering the biggest Christstollen, which at the time weighed 1800kg and he gave it to 24,000 guests for one of his special events called ‘Zeithainer Lustlager’. This is the reason for the yearly festival in Dresden, held the week before Christmas called ‘Stollenfest’. On the second last Saturday before christmas eve, all bakeries in Dresden produce a massive Christstollen together (average weight is 4.000kg), which gets paraded through Dresden on a horse waggon to a place called Altmarkt where it is given to the people.

Till 1647 the baker men weren’t allowed to use any butter for their Christmas bakery according to the church’s dogma, up to this time the Christstollen was only a meal for the time of fasting before Christmas, consisting of oats, flour, oil and water. Without the butter the Christstollen was very bland and uneatable. In 1450 the electors of Saxony Ernst and Albrecht wrote a letter to Pope Nikolaus V. to ask for loosening this regulation. It took five generations of Popes till Pope Innocenz VIII. finally allowed the use of butter, for which he set a penalty.He used this money, also called ‘butter money’, for building the dome of Freiburg.

Also the Christmas market in Dresden- called  ‘Striezelmarkt’ which is the oldest Christmas market in Germany, running since 1434- got its name from this speciality. After the 30 year war, when it was evident that Stollen was being produced in other areas and being sold as Dresdener Christstollen, the baker men of Dresden fought for their right to maintain the honor for only Dresden baked Christollen to be named the  ‘Original Dresdner Christstollen’.

The Christstollen became famous for its unique quality, especially by using high quality, exquisite ingredients, natural aroma and exotic spices. Although this is a basic recipe, each bakery still has its own inherited secret family recipe. Today the Christstollen makes Christmas dreams come true all over the world or revives memories of Dresden.