Chemnitz Christmas Market 2014

Pure Erzgebirge tradition in the centre of the city - that's what the Chemnitz Christmas market is every year: During Advent, the Christmas market area around the Chemnitz town hall and the decorated town hall light up, a magical mixture of incense candles, mulled wine and culinary delights and treats attracts visitors to the displays, atmospheric music can be heard from the can or live on the large Neumarkt stage, and a flying visit from Father Christmas and his entourage is announced every evening. The rustic basis for the Christmas village, decorated in the traditional Christmas colours of red, gold and green, is once again provided by over 200 huts: Construction begins on Monday, 17. November with 172 stands on Markt and Neumarkt, Rosenhof, Jakobikirchplatz and Richard-Möbius-Straße, 13 stands on Düsseldorfer Platz - here again with the Erzgebirgsdorf and cosy "Mühlenschänke".and 29 stands on Innere Klosterstraße, which will once again host the traditional Chemnitz Klosterweihnacht with its medieval market.

The Chemnitz Christmas market will be opened by Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig on Friday, 28 November at 4 pm with the traditional stollen cutting ceremony. The head of the city will be supported by Father Christmas and Chemnitz Türmer Stefan Weber. Chemnitz bakery Pietschmann is once again responsible for the traditional ten-kilo, 1.30-metre-long pastry. The Christmas market is open on the opening day from 4 pm to 9 pm, from 29 November to 22 December daily from 10 am to 9 pm and on 23 December, the last day, from 10 am to 8 pm. If youwould like to listen to the call of the doorman from theHigh Tower of the Old Town Hall, you can do so at 8:55 pm in the evening, at 7:55 pm on 23 December and as early as 10 am on Saturdays.Every evening at the same hour, 5 pm, Father Christmas (Klaus Höhne or his deputy Rolf Pfüller) is expectedon stage , always 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 send a letter, including a picture they have drawn themselves, to register for the Christmas flying visit - here is the address: Christmas Market Studio of the City of Chemnitz, Market Department, 09106 Chemnitz (PM 611 dated 21 October 2014).

From 28 November to 23 December, visitors and guests to the Chemnitz Christmas market can expect an extensive and varied range of original Erzgebirge folk art, typical tree decorations, Advent decorations and many culinary delights. This includes 172 huts and six showman's shops - the Bimmelbahn run by the Illgen showman family from Chemnitz is also present, an extra Christmas meeting point for children at Neumarkt, a total of 34 standsThere are a total of 34 stalls with handicrafts on display (from smoked candle making, show woodturning and carving to show distillery and sweet making) as well as exhibits such as the original humpback mine.

One of the attractions is the historical market organised by Bibow Communikations GmbH since 2005 as part of the Chemnitz Christmas market programme with the"Chemnitz Monastery Christmas" in Innere Klosterstraße with 29 historical stalls: New here is - watch out! - the kissing portal with mistletoe. The bathhouse and the "Laterna Magica" for children with the Grimm's fairy tale hour, bakery and tavern, shooting gallery, smithy and leather workshop are traditional.castle, blacksmith and leatherworker, fire show and jugglers as well as the "Scharlatan" music theatre, the "Scherbelhaufen" musicians and the group "Die Streuner" on the Advent weekends. If you lose your bearings at the Christmas market, you can also follow the ten signposts.

In addition to hearty food and delicious treats (including roasted almonds, nuts and gingerbread, of course), mulled wine and the mulled wine huts will once again be a popular attraction and meeting point for visitors at the Chemnitz Christmas market in 2014. And it's not just the winter drink, which is offered in a wide variety of recipes, but also the mulled wine cup itself that 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 purple, brown, red, orange, apricot and cream with wine red, this time the cup in the shape of a punch pot is beige on the outside and fiery red on the inside, with a new feature: The typical backdrop of the Chemnitz Christmas market - tree, town hall, huts, pyramid - is depicted in semi-relief on the belly of the mug.

Tradition applies to the Chemnitz Christmas market in its typical Christmas colours of green, red and gold, and once again to the design of the huts and Christmas decorations. After all, the Market Department in the city's Public Order Office, which is also responsible for preparing and organising the Chemnitz Christmas Market, wants to defend the excellent reputation of this attraction, which has already won several awards in recent years, in 2014 as well. The Chemnitz Christmas market not only has an excellent reputation in the traditional "Christmas land of the Ore Mountains" : the local public broadcaster MDR has already honoured the Chemnitz Christmas market three times as one of the most beautiful, atmospheric and authentic of its kind - a popular attraction for visitors from all over Germany and beyond.

Once again this year, one of the special visual attractions of the Chemnitz Christmas market is the twelve-metre-high Christmas pyramid built in 1986 on its site between Neumarkt and Markt: 21 human and three animal figures as well as twelve trees tell the story of everyday life in the Erzgebirge over five floors. The body of the "Peremett" and the figures have been replaced piece by piece over the past few years, and the original figures can still be seen in the foyer of the town hall on the market square. The original Erzgebirge candle arch with lace maker and carver, which has once again adorned one of the festively decorated entrances to the Christmas market since 1993, also pays homage to the Christmas land. The giant music box, newly created on behalf of the town, had its premiere last year: built in the image of the music box that has been a fixture at the Christmas market since 2002, it features the traditional figures of Father Christmas, a sleigh with presents and children playing around the Christmas tree, presented on a turntable with a remarkable diameter of 4.40 metres. The well-known traditional Erzgebirge figures in the decorated area also include: the 1.90 metre high nutcracker since 2003, the miner and angel (each 1.80 metres high) since 2009 and the snowman, also 1.80 metres high, since 2010.

The atmospheric and glittering centrepiece of the Christmas market is a spruce tree around 28 metres tall, which will be delivered and erected on the market square by the town hall next Saturday afternoon (15 November) (PM 646 from 6 November 2014). The tree, which is around 80 years old, was once again found in the Sachsenforst forest, this time near Jägersgrün in the Beerheide forest district. Until the tree arrives, the waiting time can once again be shortened with a pre-Christmas barbecue and mulled wine - another pre-Christmas tradition in Chemnitz. New this year is the on-site chat session at the market with Mayor Miko Runkel and the Christmas tree experts from the Parks Department, the Market Department and Sachsenforst. Once the tree arrives at the market on Saturday afternoon, the pre-Christmas season in Chemnitz has finally begun. The tree will be adorned with 820 lights - the decorating will begin on Monday, 17 November. A total of 16,000 lights will illuminate the Chemnitz Christmas market in festive splendour. The octagonal round bench created around the Christmas tree in 2012 will of course be reinstalled, built from local English oak by employees of the Parks Department. Newly ordered this year are covered seating groups, which once again invite visitors to linger in a cosy atmosphere.

The packed 2014 Christmas market programme includes a total of 468 cultural events: in addition to the Great Mountain Parade on the day before the 1st Advent and the 102 times ringing of the Christmas bells. In addition to the Great Mountain Parade on the eve of 1 Advent and the 102 carillon performances (11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., 2 p.m. with additional Christmas music), the programme includes 128 events at the Medieval Market and 119 events on the Neumarkt stage, 54 events in the "Erzgebirgsdorf", 30 tower calls, 14 carillon concerts and four guided tours of the town hall. New to the programme are twelve "Fairy Tale Aunt" readings with Renate Weber from Chemnitz and Christmas stories for children and adults. Guests from the Czech twin town of Usti nad Labem are expected to join the choir of the grammar school for a concert on the Neumarkt stage on Monday, 8 December at 1 pm.

Crafts to look at, marvel at and (for children) to take part in , with 34 craft shows and 14 offers for children. Incidentally, a repair service has also set up its hut at the Chemnitz Christmas Market 2014 and awaits the sad owners of Erzgebirge jewellery in need of help, including broken angel wings - perhaps also for broken angel hearts...

All information about the Chemnitz Christmas Market 2014 can be found online here:www.chemnitz.de/weihnachtsmarkt

Also available to take away are the flyer published by the City of Chemnitz for the 2014 Christmas Market with a print run of 30,000 copies and the Christmas Citycard with a print run of 27,000 copies. The cards will be displayed locally in Chemnitz as well as in Leipzig, Dresden and Zwickau, and the flyer was already sent to travel and bus companies throughout Germany, Switzerland and Austria in the summer.