Germany’s Christmas Markets
Experiencing Holiday Tradition and Joy — German-style
Story and photos by John Penisten
There is probably no other place in the world that celebrates the Christmas holiday season quite like Germany. Many of the country’s traditions date back to the Middle Ages, including its colorful Christmas markets. These annual Christmas fairs turn its towns and cities into festive centers of holiday tradition and cheer.
Germany’s Holiday Tradition
Traditionally held during the four-week Advent season leading up to Christmas, these festive street fairs include numerous booths and stalls set up in the town/city center plaza. Due to growing popularity, some towns and cities have even begun opening their Christmas markets earlier in November before the Advent season.
A towering Christmas tree with hundreds of bright lights and garlands stands as the centerpiece of most markets. The booths and stalls filling the town plaza sell a variety of Christmas decorations, ornaments, wooden toys, nutcrackers, figurines, gifts, clothing, candies, cookies, gingerbread, and other holiday inspired products.
Mulled Wine and Holiday Treats
Hungry shoppers cozy up to the food stalls, seeking out the wonderful range of German foods and special holiday treats such as savory bratwurst sausages, spicy and smoked meats, potato salad, luscious chocolate-dipped fruits, and warm mulled wine (gluhwein), apple cider, and fruit punch. Visitors gather around the booths to enjoy a tasty sausage sandwich and warming mug of gluhwein while ignoring the crisp winter air.
Live bands and choral groups entertain shoppers with favorite Christmas carols and hymns. Market shoppers crowd the lanes and aisles between the rows of booths, clamoring for the brightly colored Christmas ornaments, handicrafts, and delicious holiday goodies available.
The fragrance of freshly baked stollen (holiday fruit bread) and spiced lebkuchen (gingerbread) plus roasted chestnuts and almonds, fills the air. The special aromas of the Christmas market are a delight to the senses and add to the festive holiday atmosphere.
Markets Are Open to All
Each town market has its own special attractions or traditions. But they all share similarities in the celebration of the magical holiday season of Christmas. And the nice thing is that there are no admission fees to the Christmas markets.
Here’s a sampling of Germany’s wonderful Christmas markets:
Munich
This Bavarian city holds its annual Christmas market at the Marienplatz in the city center. From its medieval origins, it was referred to as the Christkindlmarkt, or Holy Child Market, honoring the spirit of Christmas. Next to the town hall, a huge Christmas tree ablaze with lights glistens above the rows of market booths and stalls.
Rows of market stalls serve up a mixed plate of German delicacies including roasted chestnuts and almonds, savory bratwurst and sauerkraut, gingerbread and stollen, plus the ever-present mulled wine (gluhwein), fruit punch, and apple cider. Other vendor stalls offer a wide selection of Christmas ornaments, handicrafts, and gifts.
Just off the Marienplatz, a narrow lane leads to the Kripperlmarkt, one of Germany’s largest markets specializing in Nativity scenes. A German tradition is to add to the family Christmas Nativity set each year with a new shepherd, sheep, angel, or other figurines. A special childrens’ workshop offers creative activities just for kids. The market lanes and aisles are filled with throngs of excited Christmas revelers and shoppers.
Nuremberg
Nuremberg has the reputation as “Germany’s Number One Christmas City,” due to its annual Christmas market. Each year, the city’s central square is transformed into a veritable fantasyland of nearly 200 stalls (Germany’s largest market) selling a variety of Christmas ornaments, toys, carvings, candles, and varied handicrafts.
Numerous food booths provide Nuremberg’s famous gingerbread, stollen, and other baked goods as well as savory grilled Nuremberg sausages and warm mulled wine.
The Christmas market festivities are overseen by a young girl chosen each year to be the “Nuremberg Christkind” or Christ Child, who represents the spirit of Christmas and makes frequent appearances at the market. There is also a special Kinderweihnacht, or children’s market, complete with a carousel, Ferris wheel, miniature train, and other attractions just for kids.
Frankfurt
The Weihnachtsmarkt Frankfurt Romerberg is the centerpiece of Frankfurt’s Christmas market scene. The Frankfurt Christmas market is among the oldest in Germany with its beginnings in 1393. The Romerberg plaza in central Frankfurt is surrounded by traditional half-timbered buildings, rows of colorful market stalls, and accented with a sparkling 30-meter Christmas tree ablaze with lights.
The Romerberg square and adjacent Paulsplatz market are about the best places in Frankfurt to visit during the Christmas market season. There are actually several Christmas markets in the Frankfurt urban area each with its own unique attractions.
But due to its popularity and the variety of market stalls providing Christmas goodies and treats, Romerberg is one of Germany’s busiest markets. A stroll through Romerberg square during the Christmas market provides the color, excitement, flavors, and aromas of a whole range of German culinary specialties. Romerberg sets the tone for the magic of Christmas in Germany as Frankfurt’s leading Christmas market.
Dresden
The Dresden Christmas market dates back to 1434 making it one of Germany’s oldest. It was established as the Striezelmarkt, the name being derived from Hefestriezel, the traditional sweet baked delicacy known as Dresden Christstollen. Commonly known as stollen, it is a varied fruit bread flavored with almonds, nuts, fruits like currents, cherries and apples, and marzipan.
The Dresden Christmas market’s numerous booths and stalls are set up in the central city square. Among the popular craft items are decorative prune doll men and women ornaments and figurines made from prunes.
There is also a treasure trove of traditional regional handicrafts such as carved wooden toys and figures from the Erzgebirge mountains, pottery from Lusatia, handmade German lace, delicate hand-blown glass Christmas tree ornaments, Dresden pfefferkuchen (gingerbread with different ingredients from lebkuchen gingerbread) and, of course, the famous Dresden Christstollen. The Dresden market also has numerous traditional German food booths and popular gluhwein stalls.
Rothenburg
In the small walled town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, narrow twisting cobblestone lanes meander among traditional steep-roofed timbered homes, shops, churches, castle towers, and fortifications. Narrow lanes with market stalls lead off from the square where the tempting aromas of the Christmas market beckons visitors.
Rothenburg’s Christmas market, known as the Reiterlesmarkt, is located on the central market square between the town hall and St. Jacob’s Church.
A big attraction is the German Christmas Museum which features thousands of antique Christmas ornaments of all types, many different Santa Clauses, and displays tracing the history of Germany’s famed Christmas traditions.
Shoppers will also enjoy the Kathe Wohlfahrt Stores which feature just about everything possible on Christmas. The stores offer some 30,000 different Christmas decorations and items like ornaments, nutcrackers, smokers, pyramids, schwibbogen (candle arches), and much more all reflecting Germany’s Christmas traditions.
Chemnitz
Located just southeast of Dresden, this small provincial city hosts a colorful Christmas market with over 170 booths featuring traditional regional handicrafts. Located at the city center next to the town hall, the Chemnitz market has numerous booths featuring fine Erzgebirge wooden crafts ranging from tree ornaments and nutcrackers to smokers, schwibbogen, pyramids, and other crafts. This area of eastern Germany is noted for its many fine wooden handicrafts. There are also many booths featuring the traditional German holiday foods and treats.
Salzburg, Austria
Just over Germany’s southeastern border and less than two hours by train from Munich is picturesque Salzburg, Austria. This city, known as the home of Mozart and music, also hosts an annual colorful German-style Christmas market. The market is held in Salzburg’s Old Town on the east bank of the Salzach River which runs through the city. The Getreidegasse area near the Christmas market is also popular with shoppers and is very busy during the Christmas season.
The Christmas market stalls surround the handsome Salzburg Cathedral, occupying the Domplatz and Residenzplatz areas. Numerous market stalls sell a variety of Christmas ornaments and handicrafts, gifts, and traditional market foods from sausages and smoked meats to breads and cheese, and a variety of sweets and roasted nuts.
And of course, visitors can enjoy a warm mug of gluhwein or fruit punch to take the edge off the crisp wintry air.
Visiting the Markets
You won’t be disappointed with a visit to any German Christmas market. Germany’s Christmas markets are a sheer delight for the senses and certainly make the holiday season a brighter, more exciting, and joyous time of the year. Anyone who loves the Christmas season will enjoy experiencing Germany’s Christmas markets.
For information on visiting Germany and the Christmas markets, check Germany’s National Tourism Office website: www.germany.travel/en.
Check the following city tourism office websites for specific information on the Christmas markets mentioned above:
Munich: https://www.munich.travel
Nuremberg: https://tourismus.nuernberg.de.en
Frankfurt: https://www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/en/
Dresden: https://www.dresden.de/en/tourism/tourism.php
Rothenburg: https://www.rothenburg-tourismus.de/en
Chemnitz: https://www.chemnitz.travel/en/poi/chemnitz-tourist-information-chemnitz
Salzburg, Austria: www.salzburg.info/en
While the larger city Christmas markets are popular, many smaller towns have equally beautiful and enjoyable Christmas markets as well, along with smaller crowds.
Other Germany Christmas Market stories:
A previous version of this story appeared in International Travel News.
About the Writer
John Penisten is a photojournalist and longtime resident of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai’i. He has authored the guidebooks Hawai’i the Big Island, Kaua’i the Garden Island, Adventure Guide to Hawai’i, and Experience the Big Island: The Road to Adventure. His personal adventure book Green Hills and Blue Lagoons: A Peace Corps Memoir covers his travels and experiences as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Fiji Islands, South Pacific. His travel stories and photos have appeared in a variety of print and online publications.
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