The Christmas market is older than you might think — the oldest, Dresden's Striezelmarkt, has been running since 1434. Here's how the tradition grew.
The origins (14th–15th century)
The first Christmas markets were winter meat-and-craft markets in German-speaking lands, granted special permits by local rulers. Dresden's Striezelmarkt (1434) and Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt (first recorded 1628) are the oldest still-running. The markets gave townspeople a place to buy winter provisions and crafts in the weeks before Christmas.
The Christkind tradition
In Protestant Nuremberg, the market was reframed around the Christkind (the Christ Child) — a golden-crowned young woman who opens the market each year by reciting a prologue from the church balcony. The Christkind tradition spread through Protestant Germany and is still the market-opener in Nuremberg today.
The modern era
The 20th century saw Christmas markets spread across German-speaking Europe and into France (Strasbourg's Christkindelsmärik dates its modern form to 1570), Austria, and beyond. The wooden-stall, mulled-wine, handcraft format we recognize today crystallized in the post-war era.
Today
There are now more than 2,500 Christmas markets across Europe, from Lisbon to Tallinn. The Rhine and Danube alone host over 100 between them. River cruising, which began in earnest in the 1990s, made the markets accessible to travelers who wanted to see many in one trip — and the Christmas-market cruise was born.
Tip
When you're at the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt, look up at the Church of Our Lady at 5:30pm — the Christkind often appears on the balcony to recite the prologue. It's a 400-year-old tradition.
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