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Culture and history in Europe's Christmas markets

16 culture and history

Adventskalender

Advent calendar

CustomHandmade calendars from the mid-19th…

Adventskranz

Advent wreath

CustomFrom 1839 (Rauhes Haus, Hamburg); fir…

A large half-timbered house with a steep tiled roof stands on a street corner in old Sélestat.Photo of Selestat

Alsace Christmas tree and its decorations

Selestat · Alsace, with the glass baubles from the Northern Vosges in neighbouring Moselle

CustomFirs bought for Strasbourg parishes in…

Snow-laden firs frame the octagonal Bergkirche in Seiffen on a bright December day.Photo of Seiffen

Erzgebirge candle arch

Seiffen · Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), especially Johanngeorgenstadt and Schwarzenberg

CraftEarliest record 1716 (Scheibenberg);…

Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral light up at blue hour above Charles Bridge and the Vltava.Photo of Prague

Czech Christmas carp

Prague · Across Czechia

CustomFish at Christmas recorded from the 17th…

A lit Christmas tree stands in the snow outside the painted front of Den Grå Hal in Christiania in Copenhagen.Photo of Copenhagen

Danish woven Christmas hearts

Copenhagen · Across Denmark; the oldest surviving heart is in Odense

CraftOldest surviving heart from the 1850s or…

Deep snow covers the churchyard around the eight-sided Bergkirche in Seiffen under a clear winter sky.Photo of Seiffen

Erzgebirge woodcraft

Seiffen · Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains)

CraftTurning in Seiffen from the 17th…

Rows of pollarded trees cross the Moravian burial ground in front of the town of Herrnhut.Photo of Herrnhut

Herrnhut star

Herrnhut · Upper Lusatia

CraftFirst stars in Moravian Church schools…

szopka krakowska

Krakow szopka

Krakow · Krakow, Main Square (Rynek Główny)

Craft19th century to today; competition since…UNESCO

Fresh snow lies on Charles Bridge in Prague below the Old Town Bridge Tower and the bridge statues.Photo of Prague

Mikulas in Czechia

Prague · Across Czechia

CustomMasked St Nicholas processions in…

Snow falls on an evening crowd in Nuremberg's old town, with St. Sebald's choir and a lit tower above the streetPhoto of Nuremberg

Nuremberg Christkind

Nuremberg · Franconia

CustomAt the market opening since 1933; chosen…

Sinterklaas

CustomOn the Dutch national inventory of…

All 16 culture and history from A to Z