A German Christmas
German Advent Calendar: Fact of the Day
2. Dezember: Weihnachtsmärkte
Christmas Markets - Every larger city in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland has at least one Christmas market (Weihnachtsmarkt, Christkindlmarkt). Big cities have dozens of them. On Christmas morning of 1772, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a letter to a friend describing the Christmas market in Frankfurt am Main and his love of the season: “I love this time of year, the songs that one sings, the cold that has descended makes me completely content... As I went across the market and saw the many lights and toys, I thought of you...” (See the original German of Goethe's letter.)
One of the oldest and most famous Christmas markets is the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Germany. (See all Web links below.) But Dresden's Striezelmarkt claims it is the oldest in Germany, dating back to at least 1434. In addition to those previously mentioned, there are large and popular Weihnachtsmärkte in Augsburg, Berlin (over 30!), Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Münster, Stuttgart, Trier, Vienna, Ulm, and Zürich / Luzern, plus smaller markets in many other towns all across German-speaking Europe. Berlin now also features an annual Chanukka-Markt (Hanukkah Market) at the Jewish Museum in December. - For more about German Christmas markets (in German or English), see the links below.
FOTOS > Berlin: Potsdamer Platz - Weihnachten
MORE > A German Christmas Guide
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Christmas Markets on the Web
Some of the sites below also have pages in English.
Berlin - Gendarmenmarkt
One of the most popular of Berlin's many Christmas markets ("WeihnachtsZauber auf dem Gendarmenmarkt").
Berlin - Weihnachtsmärkte
Links to more than 30 Berlin Christmas markets!
Christkindlesmarkt - Nürnberg
The Nürnberg Web site - Christkindlesmarkt.
Christkindlmarkt - München
Munich has several Christmas markets in various parts of the city, the largest being the Christkindlmarkt at the Marienplatz in the heart of the city.
Christkindlmarkt - Wien
The Vienna Web site - Christkindlmarkt - in English or German.
Dresden - Striezelmarkt
Dresden claims its Christmas market is Germany's oldest.
Swiss Weihnachtsmärkte
Christmas markets in Basel, Bern, Luzern, and Zürich.
Weihnachtsmärkte - Engelchen.de
In German.
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