Residents and visitors alike will gather in the market place of the small Black Forest village of Gegenbach. At exactly 6 pm the town hall will still be in darkness, then, one after the other, lights will come on, until the 200 year old building is lit up in an array of bright colors. Finally the first window of the advent calendar will open. The spectacle will be repeated every evening until the 24th.

This year marks the 20th time Gegenbach has turned its entire town hall into an Advent calendar. Rather than finding edible treats the windows, on opening, reveal works of art. In the past the huge display has featured images by famous modern masters like Marc Chagall or illustrator Tomi Ungerer. This year the calendar will focus on works by the American pop artist Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987). The first window will reveal a picture of a cat. 

Organizers claim this to be the world's biggest Advent calendar. Gengenbach is expecting it to draw more than 100,000 visitors.

ks/ch (dpa)