The Leipzig Christmas Market (in German: Leipziger Weihnachtsmarkt) is one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany. It takes place annually from the end of November to 23 December on Leipzig's market square 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. [1]
Its history goes back to 1458. In notes by Johann Jacob Vogel from 1714 [2] there is the note:
"Anno 1458. Frederick II, Elector of Saxony, Marggraff of Meissen and Hertzog of Saxony / publicly advertised the Weynachtsmarckt / and the city / because of the loyal service rendered / as shown to him by the council / and the citizens / thus pardoned."
This makes it one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany, alongside the Munich Christmas Market (1310), Bautzen Wenzelsmarkt (1384), Frankfurt Christmas Market (1393) and Dresden Striezelmarkt (1434).
The Christmas markets planned for 2020 and 2021 were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [3]
The Leipzig Christmas Market 2023 will be opened by the cultural mayor Skadi Jennicke, the Thomanerchor 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 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.
The market offers several areas, including a fairytale land for children on Augustusplatz, a historical market on Naschmarkt, a nativity scene with real sheep, an 8 metres (26 ft) tall Ore Mountains Christmas pyramid on Nikolaikirchhof and a Finnish village [4] on Augustusplatz. On the market square there is the approximately 20 metres (66 ft) tall Christmas fir, usually a spruce from the region.
The South Tyrolean village [5] is a popular meeting point on Augustusplatz during the Leipzig Christmas market. Tyrolean dishes are served while listening to Alpine music.
The historic carousel 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 before the market opened in November 2009. [6] 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 in the city. Every year on the Saturday before the Advent Sunday at 11 a.m., numerous children and their parents welcome Santa Claus and his entourage at the main station, 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. [7]
Another attraction at the Christmas market was the largest free-standing Advent calendar in the world, which was installed from 1997 to 2012 and, at 857 square metres (9,225 sq ft), according to the Guinness Book of Records, was on the facade of a house in Böttchergässchen with 3 metres (10 ft) by 2 metres (7 ft) windows. It was played by students from Leipzig schools and the ″Musikschule Leipzig Johann Sebastian Bach". Due to damage caused by vandalism, the calendar was no longer installed in 2013.
Around a third of the stands offer baked goods and confectionery such as roasted almonds, Pulsnitzer gingerbread or Stollen, 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 and other handicrafts are on offer.
Leipzig, with a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023, is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony, the second-most populous city in the area of the former East Germany after (East) Berlin, and Germany's eighth-most populous. Leipzig/Halle Airport is situated in Schkeuditz, between Leipzig and Halle (Saale). The name of the city and those of many of its districts are of Slavic origin.
Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a Große Kreisstadt and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district.
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. The annual market lasts throughout the Advent season until Christmas Eve.
A Christmas market is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, but are now held in many countries. Some in the U.S. have adapted the name to the quasi-German Christkindlmarket, substituting market for German Markt.
Upper Saxon is an East Central German dialect spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent parts of southeastern Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Thuringia. As of the early 21st century, it is mostly extinct and a new regiolect has emerged instead. Though colloquially called "Saxon", it is not to be confused with the Low Saxon dialect group in Northern Germany. Upper Saxon is closely linked to the Thuringian dialect spoken in the adjacent areas to the west.
Oschatz is a town in the district Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is located 60 km east of Leipzig and 60 km west of Dresden.
Schwarzenberg is a town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony’s Ore Mountains, near the German–Czech border. The town lies roughly 15 km southeast of Aue, and 35 km southwest of Chemnitz.
The Museum der bildenden Künste is a museum in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It covers artworks from the Late Middle Ages to Modernity.
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 holders and a central carousel with a rotor at the top which is driven by warm air from the lit candles. The carousel is decorated with nativity scenes and other Christmas figures such as angels and wise men, as well as worldly motifs such as mining folk and forest scenes.
The town of Seiffen is located in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, which is in the central south of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. The earliest record of the town dates to 1324 when it was referred to as "Cynsifen".
The Paulinerkirche was a church on the Augustusplatz in Leipzig. It was built in 1231 as the Klosterkirche St. Pauli for the Dominican monastery in Leipzig. From the foundation of the University of Leipzig in 1409, it served as the university church. After the Protestant Reformation it was donated to the university and was inaugurated in 1545 by Martin Luther as the Universitätskirche St. Pauli, later also called Unikirche. Johann Sebastian Bach was director of music for "festal" (holiday) services in 1723−25.
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 central hub for its tram network.
The Upper Harz refers to the northwestern and higher part of the Harz mountain range in Germany. The exact boundaries of this geographical region may be defined differently depending on the context. In its traditional sense, the term Upper Harz covers the area of the seven historical mining towns (Bergstädte) - Clausthal, Zellerfeld, Andreasberg, Altenau, Lautenthal, Wildemann and Grund - in the present-day German federal state of Lower Saxony. Orographically, it comprises the Harz catchment areas of the Söse, Innerste and Grane, Oker and Abzucht mountain streams, all part of the larger Weser watershed.
The Dortmund Christmas Market is an annual outdoor Christmas market held every year in central Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than three and a half million visitors of 300 stalls, it is one of the biggest Christmas markets of the world and brings tourists from all over the world to Dortmund. It is estimated that the city benefits of a 100 million Euros profit from this 38-day-long tradition.
There are over 80 Christmas markets in various parts of Berlin, where craftspeople demonstrate their skills and sell their wares along with many other Christmas gifts and fairground attractions. The first Christmas market took place in 1530 in Alt-Berlin.
The Europahaus in Leipzig is a 13-storey and 56 m (184 ft) tall listed office building at Augustusplatz 7.
The Markt is a square of about 1 ha in Leipzig's district of Mitte, Germany. It is considered the center of the city. The Old Town Hall stands on it, which demonstrates its particular historical importance. The square was named Platz des Friedens from 1950 to 1954. Its paving is a listed heritage monument.
Grimmaische Strasse is a street in Leipzig, borough Leipzig-Mitte, and connects the marketplace with Augustusplatz. It was named in 1839 after the Grimmaischer Tor, the gateway to Grimma, which was first mentioned in 1421. Before that it was called Grimmaische Gasse and was the main street of the Grimma quarter. Today it is a heavily frequented pedestrian zone in a prime location with department stores, shops, restaurants, hotels, a museum and the university as residents.
The St. Nicholas Church Square is a square in the city center of Leipzig, Germany. The St. Nicholas Church stands on it. The church and square have particular significance for the Peaceful Revolution of 1989.
