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Bronner's Christmas Wonderland (stylizedBRONNER'S CHRISTmas WONDERLAND) is a retail store inFrankenmuth, Michigan, that promotes itself as the "World's LargestChristmas Store".[1]
Designed with anAlpinearchitecture (seechalet), the building is 7.35 acres (2.97 ha) in size with landscaped grounds covering 27 acres (11 ha).[citation needed] Outside the entrance are three 17-foot-tall (5.2 m) outdoorSanta Claus's and a 15-foot-tall (4.6 m)snowman.[citation needed] Inside the store, there are approximately 800 animatedfigurines.[citation needed] Some 100,000 lights illuminate Bronner's one-half-mile-long (0.80 km) Christmas Lane.[citation needed] Michigan designated Bronner's as an "Embassy for Michigan Tourism" in 1976.[citation needed] Bronner's employs over 500 people during the holiday season (between October and Christmas).[citation needed]
Founded in 1945 by Wally Bronner, Bronner's Christmas Wonderland is visited annually by over two million people,[citation needed] with the weekend afterThanksgiving being the busiest of the year with over 50,000 visitors.[citation needed] Its inventory exceeds 50,000 items,[citation needed] includingChristmas ornaments, artificialChristmas trees,Christmas lights,Nativity scenes, Christmas decorations, collectibles, and similar goods.[citation needed] Each year, approximately 600,000 glass ornaments, 530,000 feet (160,000 m) ofgarland, 150,000postcards and 86,000 light sets (nearly 530 miles [850 km] of light cords) are sold.[citation needed] Bronner's has the exclusive right to sellPrecious Moments Christmas-themed figurines.
With the government ofAustria's permission and in keeping with theGerman theme of Frankenmuth itself, Bronner's built a replica of theOberndorf, Austria,Silent Night Memorial Chapel in 1992 as a tribute to the Christmas hymn "Silent Night".[citation needed]
Wally Bronner, 81, died on April 1, 2008.[2]
Bronner's wasvandalized on Christmas Day in 2010, with some 75 store displays damaged or destroyed. Five men pleaded guilty to the crime, which involved an estimated $40,000 in damage.[3]
In 2018, there were over 350 decorated Christmas trees inside and products from 70 countries in the 320,000 square foot building.[4]
Irene Bronner died on October 16, 2022, at the age of 95.[5]
43°18′50″N83°44′13″W / 43.31389°N 83.73694°W /43.31389; -83.73694
