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Bronner's Christmas Wonderland (stylized BRONNER'S CHRISTmas WONDERLAND) is a retail store in Frankenmuth, Michigan, that promotes itself as the "World's Largest Christmas Store".[1]
Designed with an Alpine architecture (see chalet), 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) outdoor Santa Claus's and a 15-foot-tall (4.6 m) snowman.[citation needed] Inside the store, there are approximately 800 animated figurines.[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 after Thanksgiving being the busiest of the year with over 50,000 visitors.[citation needed] Its inventory exceeds 50,000 items,[citation needed] including Christmas ornaments, artificial Christmas 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) of garland, 150,000 postcards and 86,000 light sets (nearly 530 miles [850 km] of light cords) are sold.[citation needed] Bronner's has the exclusive right to sell Precious Moments Christmas-themed figurines.
With the government of Austria's permission and in keeping with the German theme of Frankenmuth itself, Bronner's built a replica of the Oberndorf, 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 was vandalized 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]
References
edit- ^ Bronner's Official Website
- ^ "Frankenmuth's Christmas king Bronner dies at 81". The Detroit News. April 2, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Hoag, Andy (March 31, 2011). "4 of 5 Bronner's vandals to spend summer in jail". MLive.
- ^ "18 Things You Didn't Know About Bronner's, The World's Largest Christmas Store". Pure Michigan. Michigan Economic Development Corporation. November 22, 2017.
- ^ Tunison, John. "Bronner's Christmas Wonderland matriarch, Irene Bronner, dies at 95". MLive. Retrieved October 18, 2022.