Walking while the smell of cinnamon mixes with a polar cold has something that is inherent to Christmas. Like the large fir trees crowned with lights, the snow or the markets of European capitals full of Christmas decorations, carved wooden toys and crafts.
many places like Edinburgh, London or Budapest that show us one of their best faces at this time of the year, but there are also somewhat lesser-known places that hide big surprises. What Gengenbach, a small town in the German Black Forest that has the world’s largest Advent calendar among its streets.
The hidden gem of the Black Forest, Gengenbach
Some might think that Gengenbach is the most beautiful town in the Black Forest, and if you look at the photos it is more than likely that you agree with the statement. Its colors, the shape of its streets, the wooden framework of its houses… everything seems to come out of a children’s story in Gengenbach, a typical German city. Even the cinema has succumbed to the beauty of its streets, which have been the scene of films such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory of Tim Burton.
The arch of the Kinzigtor or Tower of the Upper Gate, the Market Square, the Stadtkirche Sankt Marien -a beautiful baroque church with an incredible colorful interior-, the medieval Obertor tower or the streets of Engelgasse and Höllengasse (also called alleys of the Angel and of Hell) full of flowers and vines, are brushstrokes of what Gengenbach hides in its historic center.
Outside of it, wide valleys, gentle hills, mountains and rivers. The vast nature of the Black Forest is filtered in an ideal environment. The most beautiful viewpoint in the city allows us to see the vineyards that surround it, and it is located in the JakobsKapelle chapel. An extra tip: if the day is clear we can even see the bell tower of the Strasbourg cathedral.
Gengenbach’s Christmas
The precious Gengenbach old town, protected since 1955 as a National Monument, looks like the setting for a story. We could imagine walking through its streets full of wooden houses at any time of the year, with the sun pacing and warming our skin even on the coldest days, but if there is a time when this small town in Germany improves, it is in Christmas.
Since the last 25 years the world’s largest advent calendar appears as if by magic in the beautiful neoclassical town hall of Gengenbach. The building, with more than 200 years of history, is transformed into a gigantic Advent calendar with its 24 illuminated windows that during these years have been decorated with works by well-known artists such as Otmar Alt, Tomi Ungerer, Jan Peter Tripp or Andy Warhol. .
This year, the images of The little Prince fill the windows that will open one by one from November 30 until the day before Christmas Eve. 12 illustrations by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that seem to come to life at this time of the year and join 12 others by the artist Valeria Docampo.
The little prince (official fiftieth anniversary edition): .: . (Saint-Exupéry Library)
The ritual of opening windows begins every night at six in the afternoon, with the sky already dark. It begins with music and on the stage in front of the Advent Calendar, a tale related to the image of that day is performed and ends with the opening of the window.
Next to the town hall, the Gengenbach Advent market houses dozens of stalls designed to be enjoyed on long walks. Also this year, the Museum Haus Löwenberg has an exhibition with astrophotographs by Bernd Pröschold, as well as images and stories about the moon by Quint Buchholz, Otmar Alt, NASA, or Květa Pacovská, who add to the theme of The little Prince that adorns the windows of the town hall.
To get to this fairytale town we can fly from Madrid to Strasbourg (for the December long weekend the prices for roundtrip flights are from 210 euros) and from the airport rent a car, since Gengenbach is less than 40 minutes away by car. The rental for four days is priced from 139 euros.
Round-trip Madrid-Strasbourg flights from December 5 to 8 from 210 euros.
Car rental for four days from December 5 to 8. Renault Twingo or similar Mini from 139 euros.
To stay, we give you two options, the Weinhotel Pfeffer & Salz which has a price of 339 euros for three nights in a double room, or the Schwarzwaldhotel Gengenbach, a ten-minute walk from the town hall and with a price for a double room from 525 euros for three nights during the December bridge.
Weinhotel Pfeffer & Salz. Three nights in a double room from December 5 to 8.
Schwarzwaldhotel Gengenbach. Double room from 525 euros for three nights from December 5 to 8