When I went on my chocolate & candy tour through Germany last winter, we made an unexpected stop at the Ritter Sport factory. Ritter isn’t as common in the U.S. as some of the other international chocolate brands, but it’s one you should be paying attention to. First of all, with its square packaging, it’s kind of hard to miss. But it’s also damn tasty!
Ritter is probably one of the most famous German chocolate brands (at least of late). There’s a shop here in Berlin dedicated to selling it exclusively, not to mention the occasional odd place (like a cinema near Potsdamer Platz) which has a giant sculpture of a stack of Ritter chocolate bars. Bizarre. But kind of fun.
Ritter has done a remarkable job of marketing it’s square-shaped chocolate. So much so, that at their factory outside Stuttgart, Ritter has an entire museum dedicated to square things. It’s an art museum, but curated by a chocolate factory. A chocolate factory!
All the art inside Museum Ritter has something to do with the square shape. It’s a really cool concept. And as a big fan of squares myself (there was even an inside joke back in high school…I’m a dork), the museum was certainly interesting. The museum is even shaped as a square!
The Ritter Square Museum isn’t free, but part of the building is also a shop selling every type of Ritter chocolate imaginable. There is also a small exhibit (free) upstairs where you can see the history of the Ritter brand (and how they make their chocolate). You can even grab a small free sample up there.
I also liked this part of the museum because of the old packaging samples. Ritter isn’t the oldest chocolate brand, but they do have a history and their packaging from throughout history is pretty sweet. ♥ old typography!
More info about the museum
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 11am—6pm; Closed Mondays
Note: My visit to Museum Ritter was free as part of a press trip with German Sweets.
Nom nom nom.. way to make me hungry! I didn’t realize Berlin had a ritter museum. What’s your favorite bar?
There’s a big factory outlet for Ritter here :)
Favorite bar? I’m plain and simple and like the mandeln, THOUGH the strawberry & yoghurt one is really good, too!
Oh! I would love the place! I just love chocolates! This post has made me hungry, I am going to grab a bar of chocolate right now.
Hahha – Ritter has some really good chocolate. It’s one of the more popular choices here in Germany
All those squares are pretty cool. I love interesting geometry… I’m a dork too.
Hahah, Yeah I’m a dork too. I’ve *seriously* contemplated getting a tattoo of just an outline of a square or rectangle. One of my favorite shapes!
I love Ritter Sport! Especially the green ones. Fortunately these are very much available in my country. Thanks for a great post Adam! :)
Glad to see so many Ritter Sport fans!
[…] Adam (Travels of Adam) decorates cupcakes in Brighton and knows which music festivals to go to in the UK. He also visited the Ritter Square Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. […]