Anyone who likes the Advent season will certainly enjoy Dresden, where as many as eleven Advent markets delight visitors to the city who are in a romantic and shopping mood.
From the not-so-dark Middle Ages to a hot party in a lodge reminiscent of après ski parties on ski slopes, the choice is truly diverse. Like a huge string of lights, the "Christmas Mile" stretches from the main train station across the street Prager Strasse to the Old Market (Altmarkt), and from there via New Market (Neumarkt) to Frauenkirche and further along the other side of the embankment the river Elbe. Inhabitants Dresden they love it Striezelmarkt. Until December 24, the 579th Striezelmarkt will take place on the Altmarkt. Ever since 1434, the market has maintained its unique character, despite minor changes over the past centuries. More than two and a half million tourists visit Dresden's Altmarkt (Old Market) every year. The name of the Christmas market comes from the word for well-known Stollen Christmas bread, which is also called otherwise Striezel. Every year, in honor of this delicious specialty, the Stollen Festival is held and a special ceremony is held in the town, during which the first piece of the huge Stollen is cut, followed by a procession through the old baroque town. Today, visitors can choose from a wide range of culinary specialties and traditional products.
The second symbol Dresden they are Pflaumentoffel, small good-luck ornaments made of prunes representing chimney sweep boys. Market stalls also offer ceramics from Lausitz, gingerbread from the town of Pulsnitz and other delicacies from Dresden and the surrounding areas.
Striezelmarkt but she is by no means the only one Dresden Christmas Market. Christmas market on the street Prager Strasse represents the southern entrance to the city and invites you to wander along Dresden's most famous shopping street. A market called "winter lights of Dresden", since 2012, in addition to the stands, it also offers a 15-meter high Christmas tree, which is fantastically lit, accompanied by varied musical events and a program for children. The Christmas shopping trip will also take us past the fair in the square in front of the restored Frauenkirche, where we can buy ceramics, glass and lace from the Vogtland region, sold on the Münzgasse.
The upcoming Advent in Neumarkt attracts many visitors to the Frauenkirche in the most beautiful part of the year, they are especially fascinated by the products that have been made for the past hundred years by the historic guilds around Neumarkt, for example bell makers, manuscript embellishment artists, engravers, watchmakers and old toy dealers. The real spectacle for visitors takes place behind the walls of the Dresden Royal Palace during the Stallhof Advent Festival. Artisans present their products in an authentic historical setting. Jugglers and actors provide entertainment, and for complete satisfaction, unusual culinary specialties are provided, and huge wooden baths are also very popular among visitors, which can literally fit up to eight people who want to enjoy a hot bath. The Romantic Christmas Fair is more alternative. It is located south of the palace, on the so-called Piazza, at the corner of the Taschenbergpalais palace. The market is designed like a historical market, but it has a romantic atmosphere. Just shoot aside the inner courtyard of the Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden hotel turns it into an ice rink and makes the experience of winter in the city even more romantic.
Even the new part of the city (Neustadt) breathes in the pre-Christmas atmosphere with a market in the pedestrian area that winds from the historic Goldener Reiter merry-go-round to the Albertplatz square. Since 2012, it has been called Augustus market. Not only the area around the Main Street (Hauptstrasse), which is decorated with gold and white illuminated pagodas, but also the festively decorated streets of the Baroque Quarter invite you to stroll and shop. Around the Christmas tree, the celebration of Christmas around the world is presented, and brass bands and choirs delight visitors with Christmas music. The Christmas market in the Dresden-Loschwitz area near the bridge from 1983, called the "Blue Wonder", has its own charm. The small market is popular among city connoisseurs because it blends beautifully into the romantic idyll of the village center with typical German houses with wooden beams.
photo: LHD, Dresden tourism, Thinkstock
