Stollen: Of bread, privileges and Christmas magic

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Mighty posts and the eponymous Striezel

The origin of the word ‘Stollen’ is unclear. It is possibly derived from the Germanic stulno, which means ‘large and mighty’ and fits the rich, heavy yeast dough of the Stollen. A search in the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek reveals not only pastries but also objects relating to mining. Another theory is that the term ‘Stollen’ goes back to the Old High German word stollo, which means post or pillar. It is said that miners valued the Stollen for its long shelf life and liked to eat it in the tunnel while working.

In Saxony, the Stollen is also called Striezel, although the word Striezel also generally refers to pastries made from yeast dough. The Stollen lends its name to the oldest documented Christmas market in Germany, the Dresden Striezelmarkt, which has been held since 1443.

Privileges, taxes and shaped bread

Away from etymological paths, the historical roots of the Stollen go back to the High Middle Ages. The pastry is first mentioned in the guild privilege for the Naumburg bakery guild. In return for the privilege, the bakers agreed to give the bishop ‘two long white loaves called Stollen’ every year on Christmas Eve, as well as paying money. Although the white loaves had little to do with today's Stollen, they were nonetheless a great luxury at the time.

It is also occasionally assumed that stollen can be traced back to Celtic sacrificial bread. According to this theory, monastery bakeries adopted the Celtic tradition and baked bread on festive days, which over time led to Christmas pastries such as Stollen and fruit bread. However, this theory has not been proven.

Stollen is one of the so-called ‘shaped breads’. The term refers to pastries in the shape of human or animal figures (e.g. rabbits or Weckmänner) or artfully plaited dough (pretzels, plaits, etc.). Bread shapes were mainly prepared and eaten on Christian holidays. But back to the Stollen: Its shape and sugar-white colour is said to be reminiscent of the loaf of the swaddled baby Jesus.

Controversial ingredients and a stollen monopoly

In addition to Naumburg, Torgau (where a court baker is said to have been the first to have the idea of adding nuts and fruit to the stollen) and Siebenlehn are also considered historically important Stollen towns. The recipe probably only came to Dresden in the 17th century, during the Thirty Years' War.

At Christmas time, bakers from various regions gifted Stollen to Dresden's nobility. This led to competition, which in some cases escalated into violent disputes, eventually entering history books as the Stollen War. Elector Johann Georg II of Saxony finally granted the Dresden bakeries a stollen monopoly - they alone were allowed to supply Stollen to the electoral court. In addition, bakers from other regions were forbidden from entering the city during the Striezelmarkt.

Like many other Christmas pastires, Stollen is a long-lasting pastry that only develops its full flavour after a resting period of at least three weeks and can be kept for months if stored correctly. Stollen could therefore be baked before the Christmas fasting period. Incidentally, it is the numerous layers of butter and sugar that make the stollen keep. The use of butter has only been permitted since 1491 - very officially by papal decree of Innocent VIII - before that, the use of butter violated the Advent fasting commandment. In return, Saxony had to pay money annually for the reconstruction of Freiberg Cathedral.

This is how butter ended up in the stollen. Spices, dried fruit and sugar were added much later: with the colonial ‘voyages of discovery’ of the early modern era and the associated establishment of sea trade routes (you can find out more about this topic in our article on gingerbread). Sugar, nuts and candied fruit were initially so expensive that their consumption was reserved for very few people. In the 15th century, three kilograms of sugar probably cost as much as a cow. In 1730, Augustus the Strong of Saxony allegedly had a giant stollen served at a troop display - a sign of his immense wealth.

With the violent seizure and occupation of areas where spices were grown and the establishment of sugar cane plantations in the Caribbean, the ingredients for Christmas biscuits became affordable in Europe. At the same time as the establishment and popularisation of Christmas traditions, middle-class households were also able to afford the coveted ingredients.

A Saxon pastry and its North German relative

Despite its international ingredients, the Stollen has a reputation as a thoroughly Saxon pastry with Dresden as the more or less official capital of the Stollen. Dresdner Stollen has been a geographically protected term since 1996 - this was enforced by the Schutzverband Dresdner Stollen e. V. (Dresden Stollen Association). Only Stollen from certified bakeries in and around Dresden is allowed to bear this name. The recipe stipulated in the statutes of the association and is subjected to strict taste, smell and quality controls during the annual Stollen inspection.

But there are also stollen-like pastries in other regions of Germany. In Bremen, for example, in keeping with the maritime trade. Bremer Klaben (or Klaven) is also a geographically protected term and can only be labelled as such if it was produced in the Bremen, Bremerhaven or Verden region.

Apart from the generous use of cardamom in the Klaben, the ingredients are similar to those of the Stollen. However, the Klaven is not formed by hand, but baked in a rectangular mould. Instead of butter and icing sugar, it is brushed with egg after baking. Klaben/Klaven probably refers to klöben, which means ‘rich in content and heavy’ or can also be translated as lump, which in turn fits the shape and weight of the pastry.