Christmas markets are a highlight of the holidays for Germans, but attempts to keep them safe could disrupt the magic. The site of Berlin's devastating 2016 truck attack has now become a testing area for heavy security.
Christmas markets are an iconic symbol of the holiday season in Germany. They represent warmth, community and regional pride, and can inspire a sense of childlike wonder. This is partly why the 2016 terrorist attack cut so deep into the German psyche.
Cities and their police forces are determined to prevent another attack. And this year, Berlin has gone all out.
All week, workers have been installing 160 giant, square, lattice-work frames on the perimeter of Charlottenburg's Breitscheidplatz, the site of the fatal attack.
Enormous sand-and-stone-filled bags have been lowered into each frame, which have all been bolted to the next to form a long row. Narrow access points have been protected with extra bollards.
During the market, private guards will patrol the grounds, joined by a heavy presence of uniformed and plainclothes police officers.
The Berlin Senate has said the elaborate €2.5 million ($2.9 million) installation will provide "unprecedented protection" against trucks weighing up to 40 tons.
Authorities hope this year's defenses will act as a blueprint in the protection of future public events. The barriers, produced by a British firm that also protects military installations, are meant to be reusable and will become the property of police after the market ends.
"This year is quite different from the years before," Uwe Timm, CEO of working group AG City, told the dpa news agency on Thursday. "This time it was mainly about the question of how to combine the comfort of a visit with security. Despite increased security measures, the accessibility for visitors is guaranteed, for example via the surrounding multistory car parks, which are all accessible, or public transport."
But many are worried that the imposing display of security will dampen the magical atmosphere of the Christmas market.
Whatever your preference might be - traditional or quirky, big or small - Christmas markets and events in Germany cater to all tastes, from traditionally festive to eccentric. Here are our favorites.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Schmidt
Nuremberg
Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt is a must for anyone coming to Germany for the Christmas markets. Dating back to at least 1628, it embodies everything we have come to associate with German Christmas markets. Its unique selling point is the Christmas angel, played by a young Nuremberg woman, who makes a speech to ceremonially open the market every year.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Dresden
The Striezelmarkt looks back on a tradition centuries old. It was first held in 1434 as a one-day market ahead of the holidays. The word Striezelmarkt comes from Strüzel, - a type of light, airy fruitcake sold at the market, now famous as Stollen or Christstollen.
Image: picture-alliance/A. Litzlbauer
Bautzen
It may be small, but the Wenzelsmarkt in Bautzen is rather special. It was founded 1384, when King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia decreed a pre-Christmas meat market.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert
Cologne
The Christmas market next to Cologne Cathedral is one of the biggest in Germany. It attracts some 4 million visitors every year. Round about the largest Christmas tree in the Rhineland, more than 160 festively designed wooden pavilions offer an vast selection of sweets and local delicacies as well as mulled wine in decorative Christmas mugs.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Galuschka
Hamburg
At this time of the year, the Hamburg district of Sankt Pauli shows both its traditional and its playful sides. All around the notorious Reeperbahn entertainment district, is Hamburg's adults-only Christmas market. At the "Santa Pauli" Christmas market you can enjoy delicious mulled wine and buy jewelry, souvenirs and other typical St. Pauli gifts - such as dildos, sex-toys and more.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Charisius
Lübeck
The market in this Hanseatic city is probably the best known in northern Germany. It was first mentioned in 1648. Marzipan lovers can have a field day at the Lübeck Christmas market. Opposite the town hall (pictured) is the Cafe Niederegger - the famous producer of marzipan, which some say was invented in Lübeck.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Scholz
Munich
Mulled wine, organic sausages and, of course, lots of culture - that's what Munich's Tollwood Winter Festival on the Theresienwiese has to offer. The four week event is billed as a forum for ecology and environmental awareness. The products and toys bought here are all fair-trade certified.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Hörhager
Chiemsee Lake
This Christmas Market has a truly remarkable and romantic setting surrounded by the crystal clear Lake Chiemsee at the foot of the Bavarian Alps. The market on the Island of Frauenchiemsee commands a view of Herrenchiemsee Island, and its famous Herrenchiemsee Castle, built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria - the swan king who also initiated construction of Neuschwanstein Castle.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Schrader
Aachen
The Christmas market in the shadow of Aachen cathedral is comparatively young, only dating back to the 1970s. As Aachen lies near the Belgian and Dutch borders, the market has an international feel with many visitors from the Benelux. An absolute must to try and buy at this market are the local Printen pastries similar to gingerbread.
Image: picture-alliance/R. Kiedrowski
Annaberg-Buchholz
This award-winning Christmas market in the Ore Mountains is rather special. It boasts an enormous Christmas tree as well as a Christmas pyramid, with story figures of Christmas, the town and the local mining industry. From over 80 lovingly decorated booths you can buy genuine traditional Ore Mountain woodworking, incense cones and Annaberg folded stars.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Thieme
10 images1 | 10
Fort Glühwein
Berlin Kurier, which called the installation Fort Glühwein after the popular Christmas market drink, said authorities were treating this setup as the possible future of Christmas markets all over Germany in the coming years. The Conference of the Interior Ministers recently called upon state authorities to develop guidelines to protect public events, and if this setup is a success, it could serve as a model for the rest of the country.
Martin Germer, pastor of the nearby Gedächtniskirche, told Berliner Morgenpost he only became aware of the increased security measures last week.
"They were not discussed with us in advance, there was obviously a high level of secrecy," he said.
Germer said he was not sure "if this is the kind of security we really need. But when politicians order these measures, we accept that. Whether and how the barriers affect the church's surroundings and the atmosphere of the Christmas market must be seen."
