Chemnitz Christmas Market 2013

The Chemnitz Christmas Market will be opened by Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig on Friday, 29 November at 4 pm with the traditional stollen cutting ceremony. The head of the city is traditionally supported by Father Christmas and Chemnitz doorman Stefan Weber, while Chemnitz bakery Pietschmann is once again responsible for the ten-kilo, 1.30-metre-long traditional pastry. The Christmas market is open on the opening day from 4 pm to 9 pm and from 30 November to 22 December daily from 10 am to 9 pm and on 23 December from 10 am to 8 pm - by which time the market will be dismantled again. As far as the call from the High Tower of the Old Town Hall is concerned, it is scheduled for 8:55 p.m. in the evening, 7:55 p.m. on 23 December and 10 a.m. on Saturdays. Every evening at 5 p.m., Father Christmas (Klaus Höhne and his deputy Ralf Pfüller) is expected on the Christmas market stage with a fairytale surprise in his luggage. Girls and boys aged four to six who would like to meet Father Christmas directly on stage should register by letter, including a picture they have drawn themselves, for the Christmas flying visit - here is the address: Christmas Market Studio of the City of Chemnitz, Market Department, 09106 Chemnitz (PM 696 dated 22 October 2013).

From 29 November to 23. From 29 November to23 December, visitors and guests to the Chemnitz Christmas Market 2013 will be offered original Erzgebirge folk art, typical tree decorations, Advent decorations and - for body and soul, so to speak - many Christmas and culinary delights - including a total of 172 huts, six fairground shops(including once again the popular Bimmelbahn run by the Illgen family of showmen from Chemnitz), an extra Christmas meeting place for children on Düsseldorfer Platz, a total of 41 stands with handicrafts (from incense candle making to show woodturning and carving to show distillers and sweet making) or show objects such as an original humpback mine. One of the attractions is the historical market organised since 2005 with the "Chemnitzer Klosterweihnacht" in Innere Klosterstraße with 28 historical stalls: These include the bathhouse - register for a steaming "bath in the crowd" by emailing - and the "Laterna Magica" for children with "fairy tales for snotty noses and their guardians" from 4 pm on the half and full hour. At weekends, there's traditional music on the medieval market stage, played on strange-looking historical instruments.

In addition to the tempting treats such as roasted almonds and nuts, gingerbread and other delicacies, one of the special attractions of the Christmas market is, of course, the mulled wine:Not only the winter drink offered here in a wide variety of recipes, but also the mulled wine cup itself is a tradition in Chemnitz and has long since become a collector's item for some visitors to the Christmas market. The mulled wine cup has been a tradition at the Chemnitz Christmas market since 1995, changing colour each time: after light, dark and cobalt blue, light and dark green, light and dark violet, brown, red, orange and even aprico, the 2013 cup is beige on the outside and festive wine red on the inside.

Speaking of colours: Apart from the annual colour change of the mulled wine cup, the Chemnitz Christmas market otherwise upholds the Erzgebirge tradition, including the typical Christmas colours of green, red and gold in the design of huts and Christmas decorations. After all, the Chemnitz Christmas market, which is organised and run by the Market Department of the City of Chemnitz Public Order Office, has an excellent reputation to defend and is not only known in the traditional "Christmas land of the Ore Mountains": The local broadcaster MDR has already voted the Chemnitz Christmas market one of the most beautiful, atmospheric and authentic of its kind three times - a popular attraction for visitors from all over Germany and beyond every year.

Once again this year, the five-storey, twelve metre high Christmas pyramid on the area between Neumarkt and Markt is one of the special visual attractions of the Chemnitz Christmas market: 24 figures depict everyday life in the Ore Mountains on five floors. The original Ore Mountains candle arch with lace maker and carver, which will once again adorn one of the festively decorated entrances to the Christmas market in its traditional place, will also pay homage to the Christmas region. The traditional giant music box will make its debut in 2013 - a new edition commissioned by the town and modelled on the previous music box. The "eye-catcher" was once again built by Erzgebirgische Holzkunst Gahlenz GmbH with all the figures previously present on the music box: Father Christmas including sleigh with presents, children playing around the Christmas tree - all on the turntable with the still impressive diameter of 4.40 metres. Almost 32,000 euros were invested. In addition to the music box, all the other well-known traditional Erzgebirge figures also greet visitors to the decorated area: the smoking man, giant nutcracker and snowman.

The atmospheric, gleaming centrepiece of the Christmas market is a spruce tree around 27 metres tall, which will be delivered to the market near the town hall and erected next Saturday afternoon (16 November). The tree, which is around 80 years old, was once again found in the Sachsenforst forest, this time near Kottenheide in the Zwota district. Until the tree arrives, the waiting time can once again be shortened with a pre-Christmas barbecue and mulled wine. Once the tree has arrived at the market on Saturday afternoon (this time via Innere Klosterstra0e - for details see PM 726 from 6 November 2013), the pre-Christmas season in Chemnitz has finally begun. The tree will be adorned with 820 lights - the decorating will begin on Monday, 18 November. A total of exactly 15,710 lights will make the Chemnitz Christmas market shine in festive splendour again in 2013. And the popular bench around the Christmas tree will of course be installed again. In addition to the round bench, other new benches have been ordered this year and invite visitors to linger here and there at the Christmas market.

One of the impressive highlights of the pre-Christmas period in Chemnitz is the 35th Great Mountain Parade through the city centre on Saturday, 30 November from 2 pm. 947 participants, 668 people in uniform and 279 mountain musicians will be on hand with their impressive parade to ring in the Christmas season in the Ore Mountains. There will be a pre-concert in the Stadthallenpark from 1.30 pm with the Hüttenkapelle Olbernhau-Grünthal and the Singkreis Neustädtel. The mountain parade starts at 2 pm at Theaterplatz and leads via Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, Richard-Tauber-Straße, Straße der Nationen and Brückenstraße to Stadthallenpark. The grand finale ceremony will take place here at 2.30 pm. The 35th Days of Erzgebirge Folklore traditionally take place in the Stadthalle itself on the 1st weekend of Advent under the motto "Advent in the Erzgebirge" - the detailed programme, which includes music, song and dance performances as well as guided tours by Erzgebirge craftspeople and many hands-on activities, is available online at www.stadthalle-chemnitz.de.

All information about the Chemnitz Christmas Market can be found online here:www.chemnitz.de/weihnachtsmarkt

Also: The flyer published by the city for the Christmas market (circulation: 30,000) and the Citycard (circulation: 26,000) are available to take away - the cards are distributed throughout Saxony.