The American gingerbread house comes from German Lebkuchen houses, which became popular after the Brothers Grimm collected the story of Hansel and Gretel and the delicious house they visited.

Even before that story, gingerbread had been around for centuries. It is still unclear why the German name for gingerbread, is Lebkuchen. The most probable explanation stems from "libum," which is Latin for a flat, round unleavened cake.

German gingerbread can be traced back to Franconian monks, whose delicious Pfefferkuchen or equally good honey cake were the forerunners of modern gingerbread.

Gingerbread with a wafer base was also created by medieval monks. They placed the dough on Communion wafers — the "hostia oblata" — to prevent it from sticking to the baking tray. With this practical move, they created a cookie that soon became one of the most popular specialties in Bavaria.

Nuremberg, Germany, has historically produced German gingerbread. This tradition is due to the city's position along the ancient trading and spice routes.

A nearby successful bee-keeping and bee-breeding business provided the bakers with direct access to honey, which was the most important sweetener then. East Indian colonial sugar was rare and expensive. The raw materials were therefore at hand and the sales channels easily reached.

Wintertime is gingerbread time. In the Middle Ages, as the long and difficult transport routes made the ingredients luxury goods, wafer-based gingerbread was considered a delicacy for special occasions. One can still taste the exotic spices from all corners of the globe in wafer-based gingerbread: aniseed, cloves, ginger, cardamom, mace, coriander, allspice, candied orange and lemon peel and cinnamon. Almonds and other nuts are also added.

Other major European cities where gingerbread has a rich history include Lyons, France; Pesth, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; Ulm, Germany; and Torun, Poland.

Collected from www.lebkuchen.nuernberg.de and from wikipedia.com.