Christmas village

The floating Advent wreath on the Wied celebrated its premiere in 2008.

It has a diameter of 8 meters.

The Christmas village of Waldbreitbach won the "Best Christmas City" competition in 2018 with a unique city marketing concept and was the winner of the small town category.

The prize money was used to create a Christmas illumination on the 18-metre-high guild tree with a diameter of 6 metres and almost 10,000 LEDs.

The "Star of Bethlehem" is a hiking trail illuminated with 3,500 light bulbs in the forest slope above Waldbreitbach. The star has a diameter of 60 m and is also clearly visible from the air. The light bulbs are attached to 3.50 m high wooden poles and point the way. From the tourist information office in the village to the Waldbreitbach Franciscan convent, the trail is just under 2 km long. It is not a circular route, but leads back the same way. Around 30 nativity scenes are exhibited along the way. There is a good view for a photo from the Waldbreitbach district of Over and from the Westerwald Clinic.

The floating nativity scene on the Wied was presented with fireworks for the first time on its 25th anniversary in 2014. Overall, the floating nativity scene is 8 m wide and the figures are up to 1.80 m high. At its longest point, it is 4 m deep and tapered so that no flotsam gets caught. The metal frame floats on a raft made of plastic tubes and the figures are cut from waterproof plastic sheets with an aluminum core. This unique nativity scene is impressively illuminated by changing colors at dusk!

The construction of the pyramid consists of 8 m high steel beams, a central shaft driven by an electric motor and artistically painted plastic support plates, from which the air wheel at the top of the pyramid was also made. The structure was built according to original plans from the Ore Mountains by local craftsmen. The calm circling of the Christmas pyramid - surrounded by flickering candlelight - gives the imposing Christmas pyramid a contemplative expression despite its height.

The life-size wooden figures come from the Ore Mountains, where filigree carving has had its home for centuries. They point the way to the Maria Himmelfahrt parish church, which houses the world's largest natural nativity scene. Four traditional figures - miner, angel, nutcracker, smoker - from the toy village of Seiffen document the long connection between two ore mining regions.

You can't miss the carillon at the town hall, which rang in the Advent season for the first time in 2003. 23 bells with different melodies delight the eyes and ears of visitors, and not just at Christmas time.

The carillon rings daily at 10:00 h, 12:30 h, 14:30 h, 15:30 h, 16:30 h and 17:30 h.

The 2 km "Krippenweg" nativity scene trail along the banks of the River Wied and through the romantic village of Waldbreitbach is ideal for a winter walk. There are wonderful nativity scenes to admire on every corner, in private gardens and in the store windows. Further information and the GPS track can be found in the tour planner at Outdooractive.

The candle arch nativity scene in Marktstraße was built in 2020 by the Waldbreitbacher Krippenfreunde.

A candle arch is a candle arch or Christmas arch made of wood and is an important part of Erzgebirge folk art. Candle arches from the Ore Mountains have a long tradition and originated in this region of Germany.

The "Waldbreitbacher Krippenfreunde" have completed this candle arch with a nativity scene made of wood-carved figures by the carver Hans Klucker from Oberammergau and turned it into the oversized Waldbreitbach candle arch nativity scene. The association thus makes a contribution to the Waldbreitbach Christmas village and fulfills the association's purpose of "promoting and furthering the care of nativity scenes on a religious, artistic and folkloristic basis."

The parish church was extensively renovated in 2012. As a result, the large natural nativity scene could not be set up that year. As an alternative, a small version was built in the snow-covered landscape on the meadow below the church. As this "emergency solution" was so well received by the guests, it has been set up every year since then. The outdoor nativity scene can now be found at a new location: in Schmiedepark / on the corner of Altes Kreuz.

The large natural root nativity scene in the "Maria Himmelfahrt" parish church has been set up since 1989 and was entered in the Guinness Book of Records in 1998 as the largest natural root nativity scene.

The more than 1,000 roots are not screwed, nailed or wired together, but simply plugged together. Total weight approx. 20 tons! It consists of 40 figures, some of them over 100 years old plaster figures, 85 animals, many living plants with a stream and native moss.

Unfortunately, the crib museum cannot open. In the International Nativity Scene and Bible Museum of master nativity scene builder Gustel Hertling, there were over 2,500 nativity scenes from all over the world to marvel at on 800 m² of exhibition space. Nativity scenes from almost all European countries as well as exotic nativity scenes from Africa, Alaska, Russia, China and Peru could be admired. Gustel Hertling passed away in 2021. As chairman of the trade association and operator of the Vita Balance Hotel, he was the inventor and driving force behind the Christmas village over 30 years ago.

The Christmas Village Waldbreitbach e.V., which was newly founded at the end of 2022 as one of the players in the Christmas Village, has had an international Advent calendar installed on the historic crafts museum on the banks of the Wied. It stretches across two sides of the façade. The little doors show Christmas scenes from Germany as well as from all over the world - some of them curious and unknown customs. They were designed by local graphic artist Martin Schmitz. The kindergartens will be involved and open the doors on certain days. Technically, each door is opened by manually unhinging the panels. Each motif is illuminated by LED. The project was funded by the LEADER Raiffeisen region.

The "Great Nativity Scene Trail " can be hiked from 23.12.25. On the "Great Nativity Scene Trail" we marvel at the variety of nativity scenes in the communities around Waldbreitbach. On various routes between 10 km and 25 km, we hike through the Wiedtal monastery landscape. It takes us from Waldbreitbach via the "Star of Bethlehem" hiking trail to the Marienhaus monastery with a magnificent view of the beautiful Wiedtal valley. From here, the trail leads over the Clausberg down into the Fockenbach valley to Niederbreitbach. We walk via the St. Josefshaus monastery church in Hausen to above the Wiedhof campsite in Waldbreitbach and continue parallel to the Wied to St. Michael's Church in Roßbach. We return on the other side of the Wied via Lache and up to the incomparable view from the Bärenkopp in Verscheid. We return to Waldbreitbach via the Jewish cemetery and back to our starting point. We offer guided tours for groups. Appointments are possible by arrangement. The list of crib tours for the 2025/26 season follows here.

The Waldbreitbach Christmas Market always takes place on the 2nd and 3rd weekend in Advent (6-7.12. and 13-14.12.2025). Here you will find numerous stalls with Christmas specialties and articles related to the festive season. The Christ Child will drop by with small gifts and will be available for photos - on all 4 days in the afternoon.

The market is accompanied by an open Sunday and an extensive supporting program & concerts that will get visitors into the Christmas spirit.