Short visit to the Bamberg Christmas market

Saturday, 16 December 2023 00:00
Written by Portal Editor

Our last visit to the historic old town on the occasion of the Bamberg city festival was a few months ago and so we wanted to take advantage of the advanced Advent season to also take a look at the traditional Bamberg Christmas market, which had its origins in the mid-19th century.

We started in the early afternoon, the route to the parking garage in the city centre was still known.

First Bamberg Christmas market in 1911

First, we went towards the old town hall because we thought the Christmas market would be in the historic city centre or on the waterfront, where the first Bamberg Christmas market actually took place in 1911. When construction of the central bus station (ZOB) began in 1970, the Christmas market also had to go, which was subsequently relocated to Maxplatz. But more on that in a moment.

Right at the beginning of the pedestrian zone in the direction of the Bogenbrücke, the smell of mulled wine and Feuerzangenbowle hit our noses. There were well-attended stalls with festive Christmas decorations that, in addition to the popular hot drinks, also offered all sorts of physical delicacies. The low temperatures in the afternoon meant that the snow was missing, which for us is actually part of the Christmas market, but it still put all visitors in a good mood. We quickly realized that we were going in the wrong direction and so we went back on the parallel bridge to the main shopping street in the city centre.

A good idea is to offer rental cups

There were also plenty of stalls here offering a range of delicious offerings. In addition to the mulled beer and white mulled wine, there were also chestnuts and crepe stands, which were well attended. Some fruit and vegetable stalls also offered their goods for sale; it can best be described as a mixture of Christmas and weekly market.

The closer we got to Maxplatz, the more passers-by with their drinking vessels were on the street. A really good idea is to offer rental cups that are available at the market stalls for a deposit. There was a dense crowd at Maxplatz itself because the square was so busy with more than 70 stalls inviting people to linger and shop.

In 1983, the market merchants set up a large nativity scene for the first time, which was designed based on the model of a Franconian farm.

The chairman of the Bamberger Krippenfreunde, Jakob Gerner, and the carpentry Montag from Gaustadt realized this project.

Other very beautiful nativity scenes can be seen in the two nativity scene pavilions. In addition to “classic” Christmas items such as candles and Christmas decorations, there are many delicacies from the region.

Gingerbread, fruit bread and the smell of mulled wine attract thousands of visitors to Bamberg city centre every year, just as they do today.

Hot honey mead simply tastes delicious

Brita had explained to us that there would also be a very special specialty from beekeeping at the Bamberg Christmas market, called honey mead. So, we searched aisle by aisle until we finally found the stand selling honey products. And the hot honey mead actually tasted excellent and was therefore a real alternative to mulled wine and Feuerzangenbowle, and without alcohol.

We continued our tour and discovered special offers here and there that tempted us to make one or two purchases. The extended shopping hours in the surrounding shops were also very pleasant, so that one could do any outstanding Christmas shopping without any time pressure. In short, the Bamberg Christmas market is definitely a worthwhile visit. Every year, market merchants and showmen strive to make the Christmas market a special experience for all visitors. Despite the lack of snow.

Please read as well:

Cathedral city of Naumburg – a Christmas dream in the snow

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