Germany is famous for the beautiful Christmas markets that pop up in its charming towns throughout the holiday season, and one of the best is the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg. Held during Advent in one of the Bavarian city’s main squares, it is one of the country’s largest Christmas markets.
Visitors are sure to love browsing the vendor stalls at Christkindlesmarkt, but just as central to this particular German Christmas market is the Christkind or Christ Child. Every other year, a local teenager is elected to represent the Christ Child with curly blond hair, a white-and-gold costume and golden crown. She opens the market with a speech and also visits schools and hospitals during the market season.
Christkindlesmarkt is located on the Hauptmarkt central square, in front of the Frauenkirche church. The area is served by various bus routes and is about a five-minute walk from the Nuremberg Castle.
No one knows exactly how the Christkindlesmarkt began. Most believe that it branched off from the traditional weekly market sometime in the 17th century. The first known reference to it is an engraving on a wooden box from 1628, which visitors to Nuremberg can view in the Germanic National Museum.