A 'Baumarkt' in Germany is something like a hardware store in the U.S. or a DIY store in the U.K., but only a lot better 😊. Imagine a place where you can buy a toilet, a chainsaw, a tomato plant, and a weirdly satisfying amount of screws … all before lunch. German Baumärkte are usually larger and more comprehensive than hardware- or DIY-stores.
A Baumarkt is, where a German goes when he says, "I'll just fix it myself" … and actually means it. I personally enjoy shopping in a Baumarkt as much as others might enjoy shopping for clothes or perfume.
Here's what you can typically find in a German Baumarkt:
- Tools: You'll find a wide range of tools … from drills and saws to screwdrivers, hand tools, and power tools that make you feel unstoppable (until you read the manual … in German).
- Building Materials: Whether you're patching up a wall or building a garden shed you definitely don't have room for, there's wood, tiles, cement, drywall, and more screws than you'll ever use (but will buy 'just in case').
- Paints and Coatings: Want to turn your living room into a stylish Pinterest dream or an accidental tribute to a 1970s waiting room? With endless colors, varnishes, and paint supplies, the sky (and your ceiling) is the limit.
- Plumbing & Bathroom Equipment: From shiny new sinks to toilets you'll briefly consider installing yourself (before calling your father Herbert), there's everything here to completely redo your bathroom (or cause a minor flood).
- Electrical Supplies: Cables, outlets, light switches, bulbs that promise to last for 10 years (and on rare occasions sometimes actually do), and motion detectors that will scare you at 2 a.m. when the cat walks by … it's all here.
- Garden Section: Whether you're cultivating a lush paradise or just hoping your basil plant survives the week, you'll find soil, fertilizer, garden tools, lawn mowers, instagramable furniture and new plants for Felix.
- DIY & Home Improvement Materials: From shelving systems that come with 'easy' instructions, to glue, fasteners, curtains, carpets, and laminate flooring that may or may not match your couch … you'll find everything for your next weekend project.
- Household Goods: Buckets you'll forget what you bought for, ladders that are always either too short or too tall, cleaning supplies you didn't know you needed, and storage boxes that will bring everything in a German order.
Warning
Being half workshop, half wonderland a Baumarkt is in a way also a bit like Ikea. You walk in for one roll of tape … and leave with five new tool sets, a lot of colour samples, a tile-cleaning brush with an oddly specific angle, a jigsaw birdhouse kit, a jigsaw, an axe, a fire pit, a fire extinguisher (just in case), and new plans for the weekend.
Major German Baumärkte
OBI, Bauhaus, toom, Hornbach, Hagebau.
Tipp
Watch for Baumarkt adverts on YouTube. German Baumärkte are famous for their adverts.
See also: Further explanations about the story
'The German short story 'Gut Ding will Weile haben''
'The Difference between schaut, sieht aus and schaut aus'
'The German Expression 'Um die Ecke''
'The Difference between German and English quotation marks'
'The German Hairdressers‘ Wordplay Competition'