Christkindlesmarkt is a Christmas market

Christmas Market

A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent...

 held annually in Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.. It takes place during Advent

Advent

Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...

 in the Hauptmarkt, the central squaree in Nuremberg’s old town, and in adjoining squares and streets. With about two million visitors a year the Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt is one of the largest Christmas markets in Germany and one of the most famous in the world. Every year the Christmas market begins on the Friday preceding the first Sunday in Advent and ends on December 24, unless that day is a Sunday.

History

Despite intense investigations carried out by several historians and people interested in local history, the origins of the Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt are unknown. The oldest piece of evidence relating to it is a box made of coniferous wood. On the bottom can be found the following inscription: “Regina Susanna Harßdörfferin from the virgin Susanna Eleonora Erbsin (or Elbsin) sent to the Kindles-Marck in 1628. The box is currently in the possession of the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg.

In official documents, the words Kindleinbescheren (handing out presents to children) or Weihnachtszeit (Christmas time) are used from 1610 onwards. It is not clear, however, whether these words have anything to do with the Christkindlesmarkt. Historians assume that the market has its origins in traditional sales at the weekly market between 1610 and 1639 and that it gradually evolved into an independent market. Originally, the market opened on Thomas’ Day, December 4. Due to the large number of visitors, opening day was rescheduled to the Friday before the start of Advent in 1973 and has remained so ever since. There were no markets between 1939 and 1948.

Location

The original location of the Christkindlesmarkt was the Nuremberg Hauptmarkt. It was, however, relocated to other places such as the Fleischbrücke or the island Schütt between 1898 and 1933. In 1933, the market returned to its original venue.

Christkind

Christkindlesmarkt could be translated word for word as "Christ Child Market". The Nuremberg Christkind

Christkind

Das Christkind is the traditional Christmas gift-bringer in regions of Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, parts of Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Slovakia, Hungary, parts of Hispanic America, in certain areas of southern Brazil and in the Acadiana region of Louisiana...

or Christ Child is an important part of the market. Since 1969 the Christkind has been elected every second year. The Christkind has to be a sensible girl aged between 16 and 19 years of age. Initially a large number of competitors enter via the Internet, finally a jury chooses the next Christkind out of six finalists.

Prologue

The Christkindlesmarket is opened with a prologue by the Christkind every year. Sources tell that this prologue might be from 1948 and is still the same. This solemn event attracts thousands of people to the Hauptmarkt.

Sister city market

In Rathausplatz the sister city market has taken place since 1998. The sister cities provide booths with local specialties. These cities are: Antalya

Antalya

Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...

 (Turkey), Atlanta (USA), Kharkiv

Kharkiv

Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...

 (Ukraine), Gera

Gera

Gera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...

 (Thuringia, Germany), Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 (Scotland), Kavala

Kavala

Kavala , is the second largest city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala peripheral unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos...

 (Greece), Cracow (Poland), Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

 (France), Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 (Czech Republic), San Carlos

San Carlos, Río San Juan

San Carlos is the capital city of the municipality of San Carlos and of the Río San Juan Department of Nicaragua. The city proper has a population of roughly 12,174, while the city and surrounding communities contain 37,461 as of 2005. San Carlos is positioned on the confluence of Lake Nicaragua...

 (Nicaragua), Shenzhen

Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...

 (China), Skopje

Skopje

Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

 (Macedonia), Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 (Italy) and Limousin (French region). Moreover there are friend cities like Bar (Montenegro), Kalkudah (Sri Lanka), Verona

Verona

Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

(Italy) present at the market.