Pfefferkuchen ("Gingerbread")

A kind of honey cake similar to gingerbread was already known to the Ancient Egyptians, although at that time it lacked the characteristic spices. The recipe for baked gingerbread as we know it today, made with pepper and other spices, was developed and handed down from monasteries. The craft of the gingerbread maker was first documented in records dating from the end of the 13th century. Though it was initially a luxury item that only a few could afford, by the 16th century, spicy baked gingerbread finally became a common commodity in Central Europe. The gingerbread makers at that time used wooden models to imprint images or patterns on the dough. Many of these baking forms were fashioned according to traditional designs that were handed down through the ages; some of the motifs were used particularly frequently and on special occasions. The production of ornate gingerbread forms flourished in the second half of the 18th century, before cookie cutters made of sheet metal became increasingly popular in the 19th century. At this time, manufacturers of gingerbread also began to mechanize the various steps in its production and the old gingerbread factories often developed into large honey cake factories. 
 
 is also home to a 700-year-old tradition of gingerbread making. The first written record of a gingerbread baker is found in . The craft of gingerbread making has been handed down from numerous other Silesian towns, which were established along the old trade routes. Specialties like the "Liegnitzer Bombe" and the "Neisser Konfekt" are still on everyone's lips today.
 
But the questions remain: How does the spice get into the cake? What differentiates the gingerbread maker from the baker? Where can the various specialties be sampled and enjoyed? Where do the pepper sacks come from? And who built the gingerbread house for the witch? The exhibition, which is presented in both German and Polish, seeks to find answers to these questions. It focuses not only on the cultural history of gingerbread, but also looks in particular at the ingredients, how the spicy baked treats are produced, as well as various regional particularities.