n 1799, the Moravian Church built a bakery with a living area for the baker and his family. In 1807, a Swiss-born baker named Christian Winkler bought the bakery. Brother Winkler, his wife Elizabeth, and their six children would live and work in this house for the rest of their lives. Winkler descendants resided and worked in the bakery for generations afterward, until 1926. Winkler Bakery’s oven is still heated with wood as it was nearly 200 years ago.


The oldest continually operating bakery in America, Winkler Bakery is located inside Old Salem Museums & Gardens, the historic district of Salem dating back to 1766. Period costumed bakers are ready to greet you at the door with freshly baked samples of the sweet and buttery Moravian sugar cake, rosemary bread, and other goods. Find the cookie wall and pick a favorite flavor of Moravian cookies, "the world's thinnest cookie."


Upstairs is a charming gift shop with a carefully curated selection of both historic and modern treasures.