On everyone’s lips

In Pinzgau, “Kletzenbrot” fruit loaf is as much a part of Christmas as midnight mass, Christmas trees, and presents. Want a taste?

The nights are drawing in, the days are getting shorter, and I’m making myself nice and cosy in my dog bed to watch all the busy preparations going on around me. After all, everything has to be ready for Christmas, which is still celebrated traditionally here in Pinzgau – with lots of customs and delicious treats. Of course, the dog biscuits are my personal favourite, but I’m always interested in new smells. The humans of Pinzgau seem to go crazy for their “Kletzenbrot”. The traditional fruit loaf was originally baked on the longest night of the year, 21 December, and was only allowed to be cut on Christmas Day. In some places, the nutritious bread was still given to servants and farmhands with their wages as a Christmas gift as late as the 20^th century. But today, the delicacy, filled with dried pears (“Kletzen”), plums, raisins, nuts, figs, or dried apple is often eaten earlier. Want a taste? Then try it at breakfast when you come to enjoy wellness in Austria. Have you heard that the breakfast at Lederer is legendary? Well, you have now!