December | 2025
Christmas in Stein is all about loving details, familiar rituals and moments that bring us together – we’ll go into some of these in the course of this blog article. This year, however, we are adding a small, fine innovation to our established traditions: for the first time, we have our own Christmas shop for the first time – a digital treasure trove of selected items.
With this store, we would like to give relatives, Altsteiners and friends of our house the opportunity to bring a piece of Stein home – be it as a souvenir, as a gift or simply as an expression of solidarity.
The idea behind it is the same one that has characterized our Advent season for decades: showing community, sharing joy, preserving values. Just in a new way.
We would particularly like to recommend the Christmas card set designed by our lower school pupils.
As new and digital as our store is, the magic of the Advent season remains unchanged: Community, anticipation and loving traditions continue to take center stage. Let us now immerse you in the magic of Christmas at Schloss Stein – in moments that bring people together and create memories.
When winter slowly settles over our mountains and the foothills of the Alps and the days get shorter, our boarding school transforms into a place full of warmth, light and shared anticipation. Suddenly you can feel it again, that special magic – because Christmas in Stein is not just a date on the calendar, but a living community and tradition.
The first day of Advent not only marks the beginning of waiting, but also the start of our traditional Advent market at Schloss Stein. A large, hand-tied Advent wreath is hung in the roll call hall and we light another candle every Sunday in Advent – a silent sign that the time of peace and reflection has begun.
This is when our market opens its doors: lovingly designed stalls, home-made crafts and pottery, regional handicrafts and delicacies. The people of Stein work together on a largely voluntary basis and give the market its special life year after year.
The courtyard, the chapel and the Schloss shine in warm light and invite you to linger, marvel and laugh. Between pottery, wooden art and steaming punch, a sense of community is created: people of different ages, from different countries and cultures celebrate the anticipation of Christmas together. A traditional highlight is the big raffle, the proceeds of which are donated to Lebenshilfe.
The Advent market was a complete success again this year. We had a wonderful community weekend, opened our castle courtyard to visitors – and were delighted to welcome many Altsteins, whose return “home” is always something special for us.
Another important part of the Advent season is our castle evening, when St. Nicholas appears with his big golden book – and of course with his Krampuses, who parade through the rows rattling their chains. With teasing poems, little surprises and lots of humor, this celebration creates a warm atmosphere. Sometimes cheeky, sometimes ironic, but always with a warm wink.
Shortly before the Christmas vacations, our boarding school celebrates its very own Christmas Eve: the “Julklapp”. Here we give each other small gifts anonymously from a large raffle pot and enjoy a festive dinner together. The graduating class organizes the evening with sketches, games and program items for all Steiners. A delicious dinner together rounds off not only the celebration, but also the calendar year in an atmospheric way.
But Christmas in Stein is not just about big events. It’s the quiet, warm moments that make this December so special: lovingly decorated rooms, crafting or baking together, cozy movie nights on the wards. Rituals that create closeness and give pupils a feeling of “home”.
And when the snow falls – or at least dances in our imagination – Schloss Stein feels like a place that not only offers protection and security, but also emphasizes true community. Christmas here means growing together, sharing, laughing, remembering and celebrating.
