The Leipzig Christmas Market (in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Leipziger Weihnachtsmarkt'') is one of the oldest Christmas markets in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It takes place annually from the end of November to 23 December on Leipzig's

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

and the adjacent streets and, with around 300 stalls and over 2.8 million visitors (2019), is one of the largest Christmas markets in Germany.

History

Fotothek df roe-neg 0006007 009 Nachtansicht Weihnachtsmarkt

Its history goes back to 1458. In notes by Johann Jacob Vogel from 1714 there is the note: This makes it one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany, alongside the Munich Christmas Market (1310),

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

Wenzelsmarkt (1384),

Frankfurt Christmas Market The Frankfurt Christmas Market (German: ''Frankfurter Weihnachtsmarkt'') is one of the oldest Christmas markets (also known as "Weihnachtsmärkte") in Germany with origins that date back to 1393. It is an annual outdoor Christmas market held ...

(1393) and Dresden

Striezelmarkt The Striezelmarkt in Dresden is one of the first genuine Christmas markets in the world. Founded as a one-day market in 1434, it celebrated its 585th anniversary in 2019. Its 240 stands attract about 3 million visitors from all over the world. ...

(1434). The Christmas markets planned for 2020 and 2021 were canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Program of supporting events

The Leipzig Christmas Market 2023 will be opened by the cultural mayor Skadi Jennicke, the

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding scho ...

and the Leipzig Youth & Wind Orchestra. Every day at 6 p.m., tower brass players traditionally play from the balcony of the Old Town Hall. Further concerts take place on the market stage. The

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

Miners' parade is a procession of a brass band with seven miners' bands with 265 mountain musicians and around 370 people in uniform and takes place every two years.

Attractions

The market offers several areas, including a fairytale land for children on

Augustusplatz The Augustusplatz is a square located at the east end of the city centre of Leipzig, borough Leipzig-Mitte. It is the city's largest square and one of the largest squares in Europe. It is also part of the city's inner-city ring-road and a centra ...

, a historical market on

Naschmarkt The Naschmarkt is a popular fruit and vegetable market in Vienna. Located at the Wienzeile over the Wien River, it is about long. Originally known as Aschenmarkt, it started to be called the Naschmarket around 1820. Nowadays, one can buy fres ...

, a

nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmastide, Christmas season, of ar ...

with real sheep, an tall Ore Mountains

Christmas pyramid Christmas pyramids () are Christmas decorations that have their roots in the folklore and customs of the Ore Mountain region of Germany, but which have become popular internationally. They comprise a decorated pyramidal outer frame with candle h ...

on Nikolaikirchhof and a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

village on Augustusplatz. On the market square there is the approximately tall Christmas

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

, usually a spruce from the region. The South Tyrolean village is a popular meeting point on Augustusplatz during the Leipzig Christmas market. Tyrolean dishes are served while listening to Alpine music. The historic

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

is a special attraction of the Christmas market on Salzgässchen. The carousel, parts of which were over 100 years old, fell victim to a fire due to a

short circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...

before the market opened in November 2009. In 2010 the carousel was rebuilt true to the original. The “Wichtelwerkstatt” where children can do crafts has existed since 2010 and was completely renovated and reopened in 2017. A special and widely celebrated Leipzig tradition is the arrival of

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

in the city. Every year on the Saturday before the

Advent Sunday Advent Sunday, also called the First Sunday of Advent or First Advent Sunday, is the first day of the liturgical year in the Western Christian Churches and the start of the Christian season of Advent; a time of preparation for the celebration of ...

at 11 a.m., numerous children and their parents welcome Santa Claus and his entourage at the

main station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

, where he arrives on a special train. They then escort his carriage and brass band across the city to the market square. Santa Claus will hold his office hours there every day until the end of the Christmas market. Another attraction at the Christmas market was the largest free-standing

Advent calendar An Advent calendar, from the German word ''Adventskalender'', is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Since the date of the Advent Sunday, First Sunday of Advent varies, falling between November 27 and December 3 inclusi ...

in the world, which was installed from 1997 to 2012 and, at , according to the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

, was on the facade of a house in Böttchergässchen with by windows. It was played by students from Leipzig schools and the ″Musikschule Leipzig Johann Sebastian Bach". Due to damage caused by

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The t ...

, the calendar was no longer installed in 2013.

Offer

Around a third of the stands offer baked goods and confectionery such as roasted almonds, Pulsnitzer

gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger root, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly ...

Stollen Stollen ( or ) is a fruit bread of nuts, spices, and dried or candied fruit, coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar and often containing marzipan. It is a traditional German Christmas bread. During the Christmas season the cake-like loave ...

, as well as other food and drinks. The largest proportion are high-quality dealers, showmen and craftsmen. Among other things, wood carvings from

Ore Mountain folk art Ore Mountain folk art () is a well-known form of highly artistic wood carving from East Germany. It encompasses the diverse forms of expression of the creative work beyond the classical or the modern arts, and in particular the production of figu ...

and other handicrafts are on offer.

Images

File:Ankunft des Weihnachtsmannes.jpg, Arrival of Santa Claus (2023) File:Leipzig-WeihnachstMarkt-Eingang-an-NW-Ecke-D02533+4-pCOAkz2-SN-15-12-2019-1638.jpg, Entrance to the Christmas Market from the northwest corner of the

market place A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

File:Leipzig-WeihnachstMarkt-Glühweinstand-Reichsstraße-D02335+4-pCOA2-SN-15-12-2019-1607.jpg,

Mulled wine Mulled wine, also known as spiced wine, is an alcoholic drink usually made with red wine, along with various mulling spices and sometimes raisins, served hot or warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas. It is ...

stand on Reichsstrasse at the corner of Salzgässchen File:Leipziger Weihnachtsmarkt Krippe (2011).jpg, Leipzig Christmas

File:Leipzig-WeihnachstMarkt-Waffelbäckerei-Nikolaikirchhof-D03346+4-pCOA2-SN-19-12-2019-1600.jpg,

Waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened Batter (cooking), batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron ...

bakery on the Nikolaikirchhof corner of Nikolaistrasse File:Leipzig-WeihnachstMarkt-Pyramide-auf-Feuerzangenbowle-D03651+4-pCOA2-SN-19-12-2019-1707.jpg,

at the

Feuerzangenbowle ' () is a traditional German alcoholic drink for which a rum-soaked sugarloaf is set on fire and drips into mulled wine. It is often part of a Christmas or New Year's Eve tradition. The name translates literally as ''fire-tongs punch'', "Bowle ...

stand in Nikolaikirchhof File:Leipzig Augustusplatz Riesenrad.jpg,

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...

(2017)

Footnotes

External links

* * {{Portal, Germany, Saxony Organised events in Leipzig Christmas markets in Germany Culture in Leipzig