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Christmas Markets in Baden-Württemberg
This page covers the Christmas Markets in Baden-Württemberg not in the
general Heidelberg/northern Neckar Valley region. Those Christmas Markets
can be found in the Heidelberg Area page.
Baden-Württemberg's Christmas Markets are run a little different than their
counterparts in Bavaria. The Bavarian markets usually begin on the first
weekend of Advent, whereas many B-W markets begin smartly on the 25th of
November, precisely 30 days before Christmas. B-W markets also tend to
very big in the cities, running the full 30 days, while the smaller cities and
towns may only have it running on a single weekend (where Bavarian towns might
run them on all weekends of Advent). However, the ones in the larger
cities like Stuttgart, are large and decorative enough to rival
those in Bavaria.
| Stuttgart
-- The city of Stuttgart puts on a big
show. Gorgeous lighting, beautiful shops and all the gorgeous
architecture as a backdrop make it one of the popular Christmas Markets in
the German southwest. The Christmas Market was divided somewhat into
three separate zones, each with its own character. (The
Stuttgart travelogue is located here) Munchies: Schupfnudeln
(dumplings) with bacon and sauerkraut
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Tom toured the Winterfest
in '02 at dusk. He began at the Schlosspark, just outside the train station.
The Schlosspark Market was where the ice rink lay, with lots of
traditional German food stands nearby and a circle of market huts that
specialized in Christmas candles (all sorts of varieties).
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The primary market went
from the city museum to the Old Market Square. It began around where
this picture was taken with a alley of huts selling international foods
(we remembered a lot of Meditteranean). |
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We went there together
in 2003, and again started at the Schlosspark. The best part was
watching this kiddie ride -- the conductor is sitting on a real coal-fired
model train that takes the kids on a long figure-8 track. Pretty
incredible, it must be a hundred years old.
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The Rathaus Square is
the third zone of the Market. Admittedly this not the best photos but none
of our photos of it came out well. In this huge square, the huts were
lined in long rows and topped with huge Christmas decorations. Near
the square, a separate road of huts leads to the Nativity filled with live
goats and sheep.
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| Schwäbisch
Gmünd -- The steeply-roofed
half-timber houses of Swabia beg to be covered in Christmas lights, as
evidenced in the first photo below. Schwäbisch Gmünd is a small
canal town NE of Stuttgart and was once (and perhaps still is) a popular
town where American soldiers were stationed during the Cold War. I
found a number of American flags still flying among the cafés. (The
Schwäbisch Gmünd travelogue is located here)
Munchies: Italian
pizza with salami.
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This was the best example of the
half-timber houses and how they brighten up under the light. The
buildings themselves almost look like Christmas Trees! The market
itself was very beautiful, with a wide variety of goods -- I detected a
lot of Eastern influence among the locals. It was a shame that my
visit was during a driving rainstorm, which kept the crowds away.
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But those that did come were mostly
interested in the Weihnachtscirkus, which took place under this red and
yellow tent outside the main square. I believe they advertised
nightly performances during Advent, two-a-day on weekends.
Weihnachtscirkuses (sp?) were common among German cities, many hosting
them during the 12 days of Christmas after the Markets closed for the
season.
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| Ulm
-- Ulm was Tom's last stop on his 2002 Christmas Market tour. This
one was perched directly underneath the
Cathedral and its 176-meter tall spire, which Tom felt compelled to climb. (The
Ulm travelogue is available here) Munchies:
Belgian waffle with cinnamon-sugar
and coffee
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This picture was taken moments after
the Sunday Christmas Market opened, so the crowds were only beginning to
form. I took a similar picture later with denser crowds, but
unfortunately it had begun to rain. Believe me, by the time I left,
it was elbow-to-elbow people (and umbrellas)!
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But the best part of
going to Ulm's market was getting the view from above. I made it a
point to climb to the top of the Cathedral so I could get shots of it from
the top. 768 steps is a long ways up as you can see. Plus it
built up my appetite so the waffle tasted really good when I got down to
the bottom! |
| Bad
Mergentheim -- The small Tauber
River town of Bad Mergentheim only hosts its Christmas Market on one
weekend per year, but it's a lovely and active one, drawing visitors from
all across the state's northeast. The four-day program is packed
with music and activities, and the booths were lovely. |
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This is the main market square where
the market is held. It's a small one, with about twenty booths, but
because it's only one weekend it was pretty crowded with people. Bad
Mergentheim's colorful downtown square made for a gorgeous setting. |
The Saturday morning Christmas band
performance brightened up the mood despite the building dark clouds.
This shot shows the decor of the main street, with the nativity calendar
at upper center and the Deutschordens Museum in the distance. |
| Tauberbischofsheim
-- This Tauber River town is the district capital and a famous stop on
Germany's Romantic Road. Its Christmas Market sits at the base of
the town's beautiful palace tower. It also runs only a limited time. |
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The name of the town was twice the
size of its market, consisting of about twenty booths in a circle around
the palace courtyard. The simple wooden booths were very well
decorated.
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This stage is set in the background of
the first photograph. It was always filled with music despite that
this was the Market's closing day when we visited.
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