Christmas 2018 in Dresden Elbland

Just like in every other year the historic town centre of Dresden will be transformed into a giant Christmas market from the advent season on.

Release time : 2018-09-04 13:39:38

source : Dresden Marketing GmbH, Press Office

December 23rd with an open-air Christmas Vesper.

From the end of November until Christmas Eve on the 24 December, there will be lots of other booths on the Prager Straße starting from the Main Station along to the other side of the Elbe River to the “Neustädter Advent”. More Christmas atmosphere can be experienced during a walk on the Hauptstraße within the baroque quarter and the Wilhelminian style part of the city. The booths of the “Striezelmarkt” and the other Christmas markets offer miniature Christmas pyramids and other traditional, handmade Christmas decoration from the Ore mountains (Erzgebirge) and Lusatia (Lausitz).

Visitors, who like medieval times, will be entertained by craftsmen, impostors and carneys at the stable yard of the Royal Palace. Moreover, old handcraft techniques will be brought back to life during the Advent spectacle.

Those who want to get even deeper into local atmosphere should visit the Christmas markets in the towns, villages and castles of the surrounding Elbland. The renaissance shaped market squares in Meissen (Nov 26- Dec 24), Pirna (Nov 27- Dec. 23 and Dec 27-30), Grossenhain (Nov 30-Dec. 22) and Torgau (Nov 30 - Dec 16) give the for cosy atmosphere. Festive Christmas mood can be experienced at the noble wineries of Proschwitz Castle (Nov 29 - Dec 2) or Wackerbarth Castle (Dec 8-9).

There are plenty of possibilities to combine the sizzling shopping experience at the Christmas Markets with cultural highlights or moments of contemplation. The Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, first performed in 1724 in Leipzig will have more than a dozen performances by different ensembles in various locations. The most popular are in the Frauenkirche, where Bach himself gave the very first Christmas organ concert in 1736, and the Kreuzkirche with the Kreuzchor. This boys choir has a more than 800years long tradition. Also, the Dresden Zwinger is inviting to baroque afternoon