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A German man owns a staggering 11,000 snow globes
Josef Kardinal first claimed the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of snow globes in 2002 and has since nearly doubled the size of his collection
He shared a tour of his collection, highlighting favorite pieces
The phrase "Let it snow!" has a whole new meaning for one German man.
Josef Kardinal's Nuremberg home is a veritable winter wonderland, thanks to his glittery collection of 11,000 snow globes. Kardinal holds the Guinness World Record for the largest snow globe collection, according toGuinness.
He first claimed the record in 2002 with 6,100 pieces. But since then, his collection has nearly doubled in size.
Explaining his fascination for the novelty item, he said, "I love the romance of snow globes and how beautiful they are when you shake them up and the snow falls down."
"People love snow globes as they encapsulate a perfect world," Kardinal added. "Obviously one that is not realistic, and that is why we gravitate towards them."
In a video tour of his collection with a Guinness adjudicator, Kardinal shared some of the stories behind his snow globes, which are lined up on shelves filling multiple rooms of the basement of his home. He even has his snow globe "museum" organized by theme — from unicorns toStar WarsandLord of the Rings.
During the tour, Kardinal highlighted some of his favorite snow globes, ranging from a Santa Claus helicopter complete with lights and rotating blades to a Harley-Davidson-themed piece that makes a motorcycle sound as it spins.
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The smallest snow globe in his collection is "about the size of a fingernail" and doubles as a pin that can be worn on clothes. The oldest — a Paris scene with the Eiffel Tower inside — dates back to 1889. His largest piece is a life-size lamppost.
Kardinal also has a Titanic ship replica that's depicted "sinking" by a large iceberg and — keeping up with pop-culture trends — aTaylor Swift-inspired snow globe featuring a typewriter atop two books in a nod to the pop star's 2024The Tortured Poets Departmentalbum.
Another highlight is a red Coca-Cola telephone that rings. Kardinal even has several COVID-19 finds, including a snow globe with a roll of toilet paper inside and another featuring a snowman wearing a face mask.
Kardinal's collection first started in 1984 when he received a single snow globe as a gift, per Guinness. Friends continued to buy them for him, and then he eventually realized he could just purchase them for himself, and that's when the collection really took off. He and his wife, Emma, have traveled the world to hunt for new finds for his ever-growing collection.
When Kardinal reached the milestone of 10,000 items, a German snow globe maker made him a custom piece featuring a photo of himself inside. The collector also has a snow globe depicting his house.
While Kardinal is surrounded by "snow" at home, Emma said he actually isn't a big fan of the cold.
"Ironically, Josef's favourite weather is sun, but he does explain that they don't get much snow here in Nuremberg, so the most snow he sees is in his snow globes," she told Guinness.
Emma also shared how her husband's enthusiasm for collecting snow globes has run into a practical problem that will need to be addressed. "Josef is running out of space, and he reckons the maximum amount of snow globes he can fit in his house is 12,000, so there's not that many left to collect," she said.
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