The skill of making and decorating gingerbread has been considered a great art for centuries. The tradition of gingerbread making reaches much further back in history than commonly thought. Gingerbread is more often associated with Christmas and Germany, but the earliest records of spice-filled honey cakes similar to gingerbread date back to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Their arrival in Europe is linked to the Crusaders and the import of spices in the 11th century. The first specially shaped gingerbread, molded with wooden relief forms, was made in the mid-15th century.

Throughout history, gingerbread has been attributed with healing, magical, and happiness-bringing properties. The golden age of gingerbread making was from the 16th to the 18th century. Gingerbread was not only associated with Christmas, but was made year-round for various special occasions: different religious holidays, Easter, Pentecost, Christmas, as well as New Year's, weddings, christenings, and other family celebrations.

Special attention has been given to the appearance and symbolism of gingerbread throughout history. They have always been uniquely shaped and eye-catching. Gingerbread once served as the "news carriers" of their time, depicting portraits of new kings, emperors, or queens. They were, in a way, the predecessors of modern magazines and art books. Carefully designed gingerbread was the only "graphic design" accessible to ordinary people. In monasteries, spice cakes with religious symbolism were made. Cakes depicting biblical scenes, saints, and crowned heads were eaten during various holidays and sold to pilgrims.

Artists specifically worked on decorating gingerbread, adorning the baked goods with gold leaf, silver, fragments of mirrors and glass, and painting pictures on them. Decorated relief gingerbread was made from a special, sturdier dough without leavening agents. These gingerbread creations weren’t eaten right away; instead, they were used to decorate living spaces and were displayed on festive dining tables. They served as symbols of wealth and were kept for many years. However, non-edible ingredients were later banned, as even the decorated gingerbread was eventually soaked to soften and eaten. Mirrors, for instance, can still be seen today on traditional Hungarian handmade gingerbread

Bakers used wooden carved molds, typically measuring up to 25×15 cm. Fine-grained woods such as linden, birch, apple, pear, cherry, and maple were used for engraving the molds. Less commonly, molds were made from clay or limestone. Metal gingerbread molds only began to be used in the 18th century. There were also combinations where a wooden mold pressed a relief image into the dough, and a metal cutter was used to cut the gingerbread from the dough. After baking, the gingerbread was decorated with paint, icing, or even gold leaf. Nowadays, gingerbread with relief designs has largely faded into obscurity. However, smaller gingerbread with images still remain in a few countries: springerle in Germany, and speculaas in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Gingerbread has always been believed to possess magical and healing qualities. For example, it was thought that gifting gingerbread shaped like soldiers, weapons, or fortresses would increase bravery and courage. Gingerbread depicting a man and a woman symbolized marital happiness, while a gingerbread heart represented love. Giving a gingerbread heart to a beloved was considered equivalent to writing a love letter. Single women were given gingerbread figures of men to bring them family happiness. A dove was seen as a symbol of affection, a rabbit represented fertility, a stag symbolized bravery, and a pig stood for abundance.

It is also known from history that King Hans (Johan III), who ruled Sweden, Norway, and Denmark between 1497 and 1501, was prescribed gingerbread by his doctor as a cure for melancholy. Gingerbread was often baked by nuns and sold in pharmacies to treat various ailments.

In the Middle Ages, the main ingredients for making gingerbread were flour, honey, and spices. Until the late 18th century, only the wealthier citizens could afford gingerbread. From the 19th century onwards, honey was replaced with cheaper sugar syrup, making gingerbread accessible to the common people. Gingerbread dough included spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, coriander, cloves, ginger, allspice, pepper, anise, orange or lemon zest, and chopped nuts. Gingerbread recipes were closely guarded secrets, passed down from generation to generation, along with cherished wooden molds.

Gingerbread recipes and traditions vary by country. In some regions, the cakes were softer and thicker, while in others, they were thin and crispy. In the 12th century, gingerbread in England was made from honey, spices, and breadcrumbs, and instead of being baked, it was shaped and left to set. Different recipes were used for edible gingerbread and decorative gingerbread.

Germany is famous for its thin and crispy gingerbread. The bakers of the German town of Pulsnitz gained worldwide fame, receiving permission in 1558 to produce special gingerbread called Pfefferkuchen according to a local recipe. Even today, Pulsnitz is known as the "gingerbread town" (Pfefferkuchenstadt). However, Nuremberg is considered the gingerbread capital of the world. Sculptors, painters, engravers, and goldsmiths contributed to the creation of Nuremberg's finest gingerbread, which depicted angels, hearts, and wreaths, and were regarded as true works of art. The main ingredients of Nuremberg gingerbread (Lebkuchen) were honey, spices, and orange zest, while brown chocolate was used for the glaze. Germany is also the origin of the famous gingerbread houses, a tradition inspired by the popular fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. The excitement of building gingerbread houses spread with German emigrants to North America, where constructing gingerbread houses became an important part of Christmas tradition. Today, North America hosts the most gingerbread house exhibitions and competitions.

Another city famous for its gingerbread is Toruń in Poland, where gingerbread has been produced for centuries. Pierniki toruńskie is the name of the Polish gingerbread, which has been made in this medieval Hanseatic city for over 700 years. Toruń had the perfect conditions for a gingerbread culture to flourish — a well-developed beekeeping industry, fertile land, and a trade route running through the city, bringing spices from India. The first mention of Toruń gingerbread dates back to 1380. Not only master gingerbread bakers were involved in its production — in the 16th century, the sale of gingerbread became one of the main sources of wealth for the Cistercian Order in the area. Because of its spices, gingerbread had a long shelf life, allowing it to be successfully sold beyond the country's borders.
In the 17th century, city authorities encouraged profitable gingerbread trading, offering tax breaks on spice imports and supporting the baker's guilds in exporting gingerbread. However, by the 18th and 19th centuries, mass closures of bakeries occurred due to the rise of industrial production. By 1825, only three traditional bakeries remained in the city. Despite this, Toruń gingerbread maintained its reputation, and according to a local newspaper from 1875, Toruń gingerbread was exported to exotic locations like Africa, Turkey, Japan, China, and the Hawaiian Islands. Toruń gingerbread has been praised in literature and the fine arts and is frequently mentioned in Polish legends and proverbs. According to one legend, gingerbread is a gift to humanity from the queen of bees. Traditionally, the city of Toruń presented its gingerbread to prominent Polish cultural and political figures, Polish kings, and even Napoleon. The largest and most famous Toruń gingerbread was made in 1778 — a giant gingerbread, 2 meters long and 30 cm wide, which was gifted to Catherine the Great.

Gingerbread in Hungary. Written records first mention the art of gingerbread making in Hungary in the 14th century, when gingerbread was offered or gifted to family members and guests by the upper classes of medieval society. Carved wooden gingerbread molds from that time show that the cakes often depicted biblical motifs or the crests and portraits of rulers. In the second half of the 17th century, Hungary began forming gingerbread guilds, modeled after those in Western Europe. By the 18th century, gingerbread decorations catered more to the tastes of urban citizens, with religious motifs becoming less common. Popular designs included elaborately dressed figures of men and women, a baby wrapped in a blanket, hearts, hussars on horseback, swords, and more. In the early 19th century, gingerbread also became popular among Hungarian peasants. Gingerbread makers sold their goods at markets, fairs, and festivals, where they were often bought as souvenirs or gifts. Many of these gingerbread pieces were not eaten but proudly displayed in windows facing the street, kept for as long as possible. In modern Hungary, elaborately decorated gingerbread is still baked for Easter. For weddings, a gingerbread tree is often given to the couple as a gift, with each element carrying symbolic meaning. Even into the mid-20th century, large decorated gingerbread hearts were given as wedding gifts.

Gingerbread making was also known in the Czech Republic. For example, a local gingerbread master, Jakub Prunner, is mentioned in the records of the town of Český Krumlov in 1617. The local history museum holds a large collection of Baroque-style wooden gingerbread molds, adorned with various symbolic designs. Some of the most famous gingerbread centers in Europe included Lyon, Nuremberg, Basel, Pest, Prague, Pardubice, Pulsnitz, Ulm, and Toruń.

Gingerbread recipes and traditions vary by country. In some regions, the cakes were softer and thicker, while in others, they were thin and crispy. In the 12th century, gingerbread in England was made from honey, spices, and breadcrumbs, and instead of being baked, it was shaped and left to set. Different recipes were used for edible gingerbread and decorative gingerbread.