The Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt is one of the oldest and most famous Christmas markets in the world, filling the Hauptmarkt square in Nuremberg’s old town with roughly 200 red-and-white striped wooden stalls every Advent season. A decorated wooden box held in the city’s Germanic National Museum once seemed to carry a date of 1628, but a 2025 re-examination by the museum and Nuremberg’s City Archive showed the inscription actually reads 1678, making that year the oldest scientifically confirmed written mention of the market’s name.
The market as it’s known today took its modern form in 1933, when it opened on the Hauptmarkt with a woman dressed as an angel inaugurating the festivities as the Christkind, or ‘Christ Child’ — a role that continues each year. Paused during World War II, the market returned in 1948 amid the rubble of Nuremberg’s bombed-out Old Town and has since grown into a globally recognized holiday destination, drawing roughly two million visitors annually.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Hauptmarkt, Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany
- Opened: Earliest confirmed written mention dated 1678; modern form established 1933
- Typical Dates: Late November to December 24
- Stalls: About 200 wooden stalls
- Annual Visitors: About 2 million
- Famous For: The Christkind opening ceremony and traditional Nuremberg Lebkuchen
A Tradition Rooted in History
For decades, a small decorated wooden box in Nuremberg’s Germanic National Museum was cited as proof the market existed by 1628. In 2025, researchers from the museum and the City Archive re-read the box’s faded inscription and cross-checked the name on it against genealogical records, discovering the woman named on the box wasn’t born until 1663 — meaning the true date had to be 1678, not 1628. The correction pushes the market’s confirmed 350th anniversary to 2028 rather than a 400th anniversary in that year.
The market was relocated several times between 1898 and 1930 before settling permanently on the Hauptmarkt in 1933, where a festive ceremony introduced the now-iconic angelic Christkind to open the season. It went dark during World War II and reopened in 1948 as the city rebuilt from near-total destruction, a quiet symbol of Nuremberg’s recovery.
What Visitors Find Today
Today’s market centers on roughly 200 traditionally decorated stalls selling Nuremberg specialties like Lebkuchen gingerbread, roasted almonds, mulled wine, and the famous Nuremberg Rostbratwurst, alongside handmade ornaments and the city’s signature Zwetschgenmännle prune figures. Each year a new Christkind, chosen from local young women, greets visitors in an angel’s gown throughout the season, with photo opportunities a popular tradition for families.
With around two million visitors drawn each Advent, the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt remains one of Germany’s most internationally recognized holiday events, anchoring the city’s reputation as a capital of Christmas tradition in Bavaria.
Explore more: Explore more seasonal events and festivals.
Rub-on sunscreen that fits in a pocket — reapply in the queue without greasy hands on the lap bar.
Folds into its own pocket. Pop it on when the storm rolls in and the rides reopen to short lines.
Keeps your phone strapped to you, not in a loose-article bin. Zip it before the lift hill and walk straight off the exit ramp.
Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt FAQs
When does the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt open?
It typically opens the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent in late November and runs daily through December 24.
What is the Christkind at the Nuremberg market?
The Christkind is a local young woman dressed in an angel’s gown who is chosen to represent the market’s festive spirit and formally open the season each year.
How old is the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt?
A 2025 re-dating of its oldest surviving written record, a decorated wooden box, corrected the date from 1628 to 1678, making 1678 the earliest scientifically confirmed mention of the market.
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Photo: Manfred E. Fritsche / CC BY-SA 2.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons.