Original Dresden Christmas Stollen ®

The history of the Dresden Christmas Stollen

The original Dresdner Christstollen is, in Germany and beyond the national borders, probably the best-known Christmas pastry with the greatest traditional background and a centuries-long history. The Dresden Christstollen is protected as a trademark and may only be designated as Dresden Stollen by members of the Stollenschutzverband in Dresden. In order to preserve the well-known Dresden Stollensiegel, the Christmas stollen has to reach at least 16 out of 20 points during the annual taste test of the tunneling. Only then can the Christstollen be designated as a Dresden Christstollen.

Backtradition over hundreds of years
In Dresden the term “Christstollen” appeared for the first time in 1474 on a bill to the Dresdner Hof. At that time, the Christmas biscuit was still mainly called “Stollen-Striezel”. For this reason, the oldest German Christmas market has also received its name, the Dresden Striezelmarkt. It was not long before the Dresdner Stollen was traditionally eaten for Christmas every year. Even the Prince Elector of Saxony was given a one and a half meter long Dresden Christstollen every year by the Saxon bakers at Christmas time. The Christmas stollen has an incomparable shape, which has not changed since then, and is still reminiscent of the wrapped Jesus child – so the white powdered sugar on the tunnel is also explained. Exquisite ingredients such as sultanas, almonds, lemon or orange peel and a centuries-old baking recipe make the Dresden Christstollen a true masterpiece of German baking. With the greatest care, hand-baked and stamped as a quality mark, the original Dresdner Christstollen brand not only won the so-called “Stollen Oscar”, but also built up a strong trust of an international customer base.