Erfurt expects hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Christmas market
Glittering lights, the scent of mulled wine and the magic of Advent against the backdrop of St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Severus Church: the 173rd Erfurt Christmas market opens its doors next Tuesday. With 25 days, it is the shortest Christmas market in the state capital to date - apart from the Corona period, as market manager Sven Kaestner said on Wednesday. It is hoped that the number of visitors from the previous year will be reached, even if the market is six days shorter than in 2022. Last year, Thuringia's largest Christmas market attracted 853,000 visitors, according to the figures.
Despite higher stall rents, stalls and rides from around 170 traders and showmen on the Domplatz invite visitors to take a pre-Christmas stroll - that's slightly more than in 2022. The products on offer range from Thuringian glass art to Christmas decorations from the Ore Mountains. This year, 34 new city-owned huts, which are larger and more modern than the previous ones, will be set up around the nativity scene and Christmas tree, according to cultural affairs officer Tobias Knoblich. The city has invested around half a million euros in the equipment.
This year's attractions also include a Christmas pyramid, a five-metre high Advent wreath and a scenic fairytale forest. There will also be a varied program on the Cathedral Square stage. For the finale on December 22, the Erfurt and Jena pub choirs will once again be inviting people to join them for an Advent sing-along in front of the cathedral steps, which attracted more than 3,000 singing enthusiasts last year.
The city reacted with incomprehension to the costs now being charged for music. The so-called Gema fees have risen significantly in some cases due to recalculations of the floor space. The amounts that are now being charged are disproportionate, criticized Knoblich. In protest against this, the Christmas markets in Erfurt, Dresden, Leipzig and Magdeburg do not want to play music on a market afternoon.
The Erfurt Christmas market is one of the largest in Germany. It opens every year on the Tuesday after the Sunday of the Dead.
Visitors to the Erfurt Christmas market can enjoy their leisure time, filled with customs such as admiring the Christmas pyramid and singing along with the Erfurt and Jena pub choirs during the Advent season. During their shopping spree for Thuringian glass art and Ore Mountains Christmas decorations, they might also take notice of the elevated stall rents this year due to recalculations of floor space for music rights.
Source: www.dpa.com
