Leipzig Christmas Market

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
View at the blue hour over the market square and the old town hall (2019)

The Leipzig Christmas market on the market square and the adjacent streets is one of the largest Christmas markets in Germany with around 260 stalls and over 2 million visitors annually .

history

Leipzig Christmas Market (1950)

Its history goes back to 1458. In the records of Johann Jacob Vogel from 1714 there is the note:

"Anno 1458. Has elector Friedrich Marggraff zu Meissen and Hertzog zu Sachsen / Weynachtsmarckt publicly announced / and the city / because of the faithful services rendered / so Ihme von der Rathe / and the citizenry has shown / pardoned."

Along with the Munich Christkindlmarkt (1310), Bautzen Wenzelsmarkt (1384), Frankfurt Christmas market (1393) and Dresden Striezelmarkt (1434), it is one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany.

Cultural framework

The market is opened by the St. Thomas' Choir . Tower blowers traditionally play every day at 6 p.m. from the balcony of the Old Town Hall . Further concerts will take place on the market stage. Every two years the Erzgebirge mountain parade takes place, a marching band procession with 700 miners.

Attractions

Level carousel rebuilt from the historical original (2019)

The market offers several areas, including a fairy tale land for children on Augustplatz , a historical market on the Naschmarkt , a Christmas crib with real sheep, an eight-meter-high Christmas pyramid in the Ore Mountains on the Nikolaikirchhof and a Finnish village on Augustusplatz . On the market square there is the approximately 20 meter high Christmas fir, mostly a spruce from the region.

The historic carousel is a special attraction of the Christmas market on Salzgässchen. The carousel, which is in parts over 100 years old, fell victim to a fire caused by a short circuit before the market opened in November 2009. In 2010 the floor carousel was rebuilt true to the original. The “Wichtelwerkstatt”, where children can do handicrafts, has existed since 2010.

A special and well-celebrated Leipzig tradition is the arrival of Santa Claus in the city. Every year on the Saturday before the first Advent at 11 a.m., numerous children and their parents receive Santa Claus and his entourage in the main station, where he arrives with a special train. Then they guide his carriage and brass band across the city to the market square. Santa Claus holds his office hour there every day until the end of the Christmas market.

Another attraction at the Christmas market was the largest free-standing Advent calendar in the world on the facade of a house in Böttchergässchen with three by two-meter windows , which was erected from 1997 to 2012 and, according to the Guinness Book of Records , was 857 square meters . It was played by students from Leipzig schools and the Johann Sebastian Bach music school . Due to vandalism damage, the calendar was no longer set up from 2013.

offer

Around a third of the stands offer baked goods and confectionery such as roasted almonds, Pulsnitzer gingerbread or Dresden stollen , other foods and drinks. High-quality dealers, showmen and craftsmen make up the largest share. Wood carvings of the Erzgebirge folk art and other handicrafts are on offer .

photos

  • Entrance to the Christmas market from the northwest corner of the market

  • Mulled wine stand on Reichsstrasse at the corner of Salzgäßchen

  • Leipzig Christmas crib

  • Waffle bakery on the Nikolaikirchhof at the corner of Nikolaistraße

  • Christmas pyramid at the Feuerzangenbowle stand in the Nikolaikirchhof

  • Ferris wheel on Augustusplatz (2017)

Individual evidence

  1. Jump up ↑ Johann Jakob Vogel : Leipzigisches Geschicht-Buch or Annales, that is: Year and Day Books of the World Famous King. and Electoral Saxon City of Commerce and Trade Leipzig, [...] Friedrich Lankischens blessed heirs, Leipzig 1714, p. 58 ( digitized version ).
  2. ↑ The historic floor carousel burned down at the Christmas market. In: LVZ-Online. Archived from the original on November 26, 2009 ; Retrieved on November 22, 2009 (notification from November 22, 2009).
  3. ↑ The official Leipzig Santa Claus. Retrieved December 24, 2013 .

Web links

Commons : Christmas market in Leipzig  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 20 ′ 25.4 ″  N , 12 ° 22 ′ 29 ″  E