Feuerzangenbowle
DrinkNov to Dec
Feuerzangenbowle suits anyone who wants the most theatrical drink at a German market, and the trade-off is a crowd around the kettle and a stronger cup than Glühwein. Nuremberg's riverside kettle and Munich's at the Isartor are the big ones, and different sources call each of them the largest in the world.
The name
Feuerzange + Bowle
Fire-tongs punch. The Feuerzange was a hearth tool for lifting glowing coals, and it once held the sugar over the bowl.
german
SourceWhere to eat Feuerzangenbowle
- Nuremberg ChristkindlesmarktNuremberg
The kettle stands by the Fleischbrücke on the Pegnitz, a short walk from the Hauptmarkt.
- Feuerzangenbowle am IsartorMunich
The 9,000-litre kettle at the old city gate has returned every winter since 2005.
- Leipzig Christmas Market, NikolaikirchhofLeipzig
The city's market guide puts Feuerzangenbowle and waffles under the pyramid beside the Nikolaikirche.
- Würzburger WeihnachtsmarktWurzburg
The city lists Feuerzangenbowle on the market's drinks beside Glühwein.
- Koblenz Christmas Market, LiebfrauenkircheKoblenz
The market's own site serves it in the shadow of the church's onion domes.
- Tübingen Christmas MarketTubingen
The city's page calls the Feuerzangenbowle on the Haagtorplatz at 19:00 on the Friday a highlight.
- Dresden StriezelmarktDresden
The 2026 stall rules list Feuerzangenbowle among the alcoholic drinks poured into the market's ceramic mugs.
Feuerzangenbowle is a punch built on red wine heated with cloves, cinnamon sticks and lemon and orange peel. A pair of fire tongs, or today a grid, sits across the top of the pot, and a cone of sugar soaked in rum burns on it and drips caramel into the wine. Overproof rum above 57 percent works best, because weaker rum burns too cool to caramelise the sugar. The name means fire-tongs punch, from the tongs once used to lift glowing coals from the hearth.
Most Germans know it from Die Feuerzangenbowle, the 1944 film with Heinz Rühmann based on Heinrich Spoerl's 1933 novel. The drink only appears in the opening scene, where a table of older men drink it and reminisce about school. Universities still screen the film in Advent to packed lecture halls, and students bring sparklers, alarm clocks and torches to join in at set scenes.
Sources disagree on which kettle is the biggest. German Wikipedia records a 9,000-litre kettle, about 3.4 metres tall, first set up at the Isartor in Munich in December 2005 and back every winter since. Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt calls its own kettle by the Fleischbrücke on the Pegnitz the largest Feuerzangenbowle in the world. Wikipedia also lists one at the Cologne market on Chlodwigplatz and one in Vienna since 2021.
Worth knowing
- Hold the mug by the handle: the punch is served at about 70 °C.
- In Tübingen, be on the Haagtorplatz at 19:00 on Friday 11 December 2026, which the city picks as the highlight of its three-day market.
Quick answers about Feuerzangenbowle
What is Feuerzangenbowle?
Feuerzangenbowle is a hot punch of red wine, spices and citrus. A rum-soaked sugar cone is set alight on a grid over the pot so the burning sugar drips into the wine.
Where is the biggest Feuerzangenbowle?
Sources disagree. German Wikipedia gives the title to Munich's 9,000-litre kettle at the Isartor, which has run every winter since 2005, and Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt calls its kettle by the Fleischbrücke the largest in the world.
How do you order Feuerzangenbowle?
Ask for eine Feuerzangenbowle. It's ladled from the big kettle under the burning sugar cone into a mug, and the market's usual mug deposit applies; at Dresden's Striezelmarkt it goes into the ceramic mug kept for alcoholic drinks. Go after dark, when the flame is the show.
When is Feuerzangenbowle in season?
Feuerzangenbowle: Advent and New Year's Eve, when markets light the sugar cone over their kettles after dark.