A Day Out at Pepperkakebyen – World’s Largest Gingerbread Town

Did you know that there is a gingerbread town, crowned as the largest in the world? This was something I was not aware of, until traveling to Norway. In the rainy town of Bergen, they hold Pepperkakebyen each year, which is the world’s largest gingerbread town, made by the local community. School children and adults alike come together to create houses, decorated boats, re-create famous buildings and more to ensure that their gingerbread town is the largest that can be found in the world.

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When we heard about Pepperkakebyen, we were told that it was something that local children really love going too. As large children ourselves, Dann and I set off to see if it was indeed big. And, let me tell you, there were a lot of gingerbread. From the moment we walked into the venue, we could smell the gingerbread. It hit like a wall of sweet and sugary cinnamon. We were told by locals that normally Papperkakebyen was in a different location, but due to the general state of the world, it had been moved to a new spot, and as such, it wasn’t as big as most years. With that said, the place was huge. Once we had walked past the entry – where you can buy gingerbread cookies to snack on, drinks, and other small things, we entered a small sitting area, and then a blue tunnel.

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The lighting was quite low, as is common in most places in Bergen, so it did take a moment for our eyes to adjust. The inside of this blue tunnel contained loads of gingerbread houses, towers, temples, statues, cars, people, trees – you name it, it was there. This town was heavily populated, with various sections of impressive looking gingerbread, sculpted and decorated to be apart of this massive feature. There were gingerbreads that you would recognize; the Effie tower, Tower of Pisa, leaning of course, and the London Bridge were all scattered around the town, showcasing various parts of the world. There were large castles and smaller houses, some decorated very precisely, others clearly done by little hands.

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Everything was beautifully lit, and the scenes around the town matched what was going on. Boats made of gingerbread were placed in the painted, water area, while up on top of mountains you could find buildings and even those plastic moving trains you often find when you watch Christmas advertisements. There was a lot to see and a lot to take in. I was particularly impressed with the use of gelatin sheets to make windows, with scenes inside the buildings itself. There was soft glow from fairy lights, illuminating windows, bushes, and various parts of buildings. Many children seemed to sign their names on their houses, which was cool to see. There were even some sections which were themed – a Paw Patrol area and a Halloween area full of spooky houses stood out in my mind.

When we were finished walking around, the area looped back to the seating area, where we could see a few stand out (large, not town related) gingerbread sculptures, of things like Pokemon and Robots, as well as watch a video of the making of Pepperkakebyen. It showed the previous year, with children coming in to decorate, and enjoying the atmosphere as the various buildings were put in place. The World’s Largest Gingerbread Town did not disappoint, though it’s a short experience, it is one full of wonder that really captivates the magic of wintertime.

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This post is a part of our Blogmas series, with each and every post being about Christmas or Winter.