8 Day Christmas Markets of Germany with 8 Cities, Frankfurt to Berlin
5th November 2024
Here at Best Value Tours, we are delighted to recommend great festive period tours and today we feature; 8 Day Christmas Markets of Germany with 8 Cities, Frankfurt to Berlin | Best Value Tours
Full details below, but first some brief history of Christmas Markets, Christmas markets are street markets held during those four weeks of Advent. Germany founded these marketplaces, which are now hosted worldwide. Some Americans have changed the name to quasi-English Christkindl market, replacing German Market.
German-speaking Europe and much of the Holy Roman Empire, including eastern France, had Christmas markets in the Late Middle Ages. These Advent traditions were widespread during the Reformation. Dresden’s Striezelmarkt, one of the first authentic Christmas markets, opened in 1434; older markets were “December markets”. These “December markets” were first mentioned at Vienna (1296), Munich (1310), Bautzen (1384), and Frankfurt (1393).
In many German, Swiss, and Austrian cities, Advent begins with the Christmas market or “Weihnachtsmarkt”. Southern Germany, Switzerland, and Austria name it a “Christkind marekt” (German). The town square market sells food, drinks, and seasonal goods from open-air kiosks with traditional singing and dance. A local youngster plays the “Christkind” (originally boy Jesus, now typically an angel-like female) during the Christkindles market in Nuremberg and other cities on opening night.
History
The first Christmas markets in German-speaking Europe and many parts of the former Holy Roman Empire date back to late mediaeval sales fairs and one-day markets, which allowed citizens to stock up on meat and winter necessities at the start of the cold season. Duke Albert I of Austria allowed Viennese entrepreneurs to host a “December market” to supply the local populace in 1296.
From the 14th century, toy makers, basket weavers, and confectioners set up “Saint Nicholas market” stalls to sell Christmas gifts. Several vendors sold roasted chestnuts, nuts, and almonds.Documents originally described a Munich Saint Nicholas market in 1310. King Wenceslas granted Bautzen the privilege to operate a free meat market on Saturdays from St. Michael’s Day (29 September) to Christmas in 1384.
With time, the ritual extended throughout German-speaking countries. The first Christmas market was a Striezelmarkt in Dresden on the Monday before Christmas in 1434, under Frederick II of Saxony. Later, the Reformation renamed it Christkindlmarkt (“Christ Child market”) to oppose saint worship. Nürnberg’s Christmas market began in 1628, Strasbourg’s in 1570.[16]
In the 19th century, Strasbourg hosted the Christkindelsmärik (in Alsatian) at the Frohnhof (French: Cour aux Corvées) between the Cathedral of Our Lady, Palais Rohan, and Œuvre Notre-Dame Museum (now Place du Château) from eight days before Christmas until midnight mass.
Markets have become part of pre-Christmas traditions since the first half of the 20th century. The mid-1990s saw a renaissance. European towns have Christmas markets with chalets and attractions like ice rinks and Ferris wheels, making them more commercial.
Traditional Christmas Market
8 Day Christmas Markets of Germany with 8 Cities, Frankfurt to Berlin | Best Value Tours
Description
Visit German Christmas markets and enjoy oompah music and Glühwein with the locals. Experience Berlin, Frankfurt, Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Erfurt, Weimar, Dresden, and Leipzig.
Visitors can climb the Berlin TV Tower, visit Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Wartburg Castle in Eisenach (Sat/Sun only), Weimar, Dresden, Erfurt, and Leipzig Christmas Markets See Dresden’s Opera House and Zwinger Palace and Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag Building.
Prices/Book Tour – 8 Day Christmas Markets of Germany with 8 Cities, Frankfurt to Berlin | Best Value Tours
Frankfurt is the start of this magnificent tour to satisfy your holiday wanderlust with Glühwein and Stollen. Join your Travel Director for an orientation tour of the city’s vibrant financial centre and mediaeval Römerplatz this afternoon after settling in. Get together with other travellers for a Welcome Reception with beverages and a short dinner.
Accommodation Sheraton Frankfurt Offenbach
From stunning Bavarian countryside to Rothenburg, a mediaeval walled town, your Travel Director will lead you past half-timbered houses and the Old Town Hall for an orientation stroll. After eating Schneeballen or shopping at the Reiterlesmarkt, visit Nuremberg’s ramparts and St. Sebald’s Church. Next, we visit the Christkindles market, where gingerbread hearts hang from the stalls and Zwetschgenmännle prune men stand in their Christmas finery.
Accommodation Nuremberg Seminar Hotel
Enjoy hundreds of years of Christmas cheer at the Eisenach Christmas market* at UNESCO World Heritage Wartburg Castle. Walk by sizzling Bratwurst and steamy Glühwein vats to experience the magic. Our next Christmas dream is Erfurt’s mediaeval market, whose Weinachtspyramiden offers schnitzel, gingerbread, and egg punch against St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Severus Church. Visit the market Ferris wheel and Europe’s longest inhabited bridge, Merchants’ Bridge. Today, we dine at our hotel in Weimar, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to conclude our festive tour. Sat/Sun only
Accommodation Leonardo Weimar Hotel
Enjoy a relaxing morning in Weimar before seeing Dresden, the ‘Florence on the Elbe’. Visit a city that was nearly destroyed during World War II and marvel at its restoration. Consider eating authentic German food at a neighbourhood restaurant tonight.
Hotel Bilderberg Bellevue Dresden
Today, we Dive Into Culture and visit Dresden’s Striezelmarkt, Germany’s oldest Christmas market.
Enjoy the glittering lights, handcrafted decorations, and Christmas music. Honour the original Dresdner Christstollen on the second weekend of advent.
Hotel Bilderberg Bellevue Dresden
Enjoy Leipzig and Berlin.
Walk past more than 250 adorned stalls in Leipzig’s Marktplatz to experience centuries of Yuletide traditions. In ‘Ancient Leipzig’, enjoy Glögi wine and traditional crafts to travel back in time. We spend two nights in Berlin after leaving lively Leipzig.
Accommodation Catalonia Berlin Mitte
Explore Berlin.
The Berlin TV Tower’s 360° city vistas don’t require Santa’s reindeer to climb hundreds of meters. Your Local Specialist will lead a scenic tour of historic East and West Berlin, including the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden, Reichstag, Tiergarten, and Kurfürstendamm. Enjoy the day on your own or join an Optional Experience to discover ‘Berlin’s Secret Past’. Dine with a local family in their home for a Be My Guest experience as our Christmas adventure winds down.
Accommodation Catalonia Berlin Mitte
For now, it’s time to bid a festive farewell to our travel companions as we return home filled with magical memories. Find out more about your free airport transfer at trafalgar.com/freetransfers.
Departure Transfer Arrive at the airport at 08:00, 10:00
Prices/Book Tour – 8 Day Christmas Markets of Germany with 8 Cities, Frankfurt to Berlin | Best Value Tours
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