Freiburg's Wiehnachtsmarkt was the nicest that I was able to visit this year. It is situated on three martplatz in the Altstadt. The largest of these is in front of the Rathouse (City hall). The other two were not far away.
In all candor, Freiburg might be my favorite city in Germany. If I could choose a German city to live in, Freiburg would be up there. First of all, it is a picturesque city, with a large Altstadt, some remaining city gates, and the Gothic Munster (i.e. large church but did not receive cathedral status as a bishop never used it as his headquarters). All of which have been well preserved and maintain. It might be the cleanest city in Germany, which is saying something. The downtown area that includes the Altstadt is quite active, commercially. Further, it is set between the Rhine and the Black forest in the southern part of German that is known for it's good weather and fine food. France is not far, nor is Switzerland. It is a university town. That and the size of the city helps support a good arts community. Plus, it has a great public transport system including light rail, and bus. Freiburg is on a main line of the Deutsche Bahn, so you have great access to the train system.
What makes the Weihnachtsmarkt enjoyable was the sitting in the Altstadt, plus the fact that so many of the booth had hand made items like the carved wooded figures in the picture.
My personal favorite booth was the one that sold springerle presses. These press were a little different than I had previously seen as they were made of clay rather than carved out of wood. The guy at the booth explained that with clay, they can offer more detain in the form than with wood. Plus they are easier to clean. The detail and variety of these forms was truly amazing. They have a website a www.springerle.com where there are detailed pictures of the forms.
Freiburg's Wiehnachtsmarkt was the nicest that I was able to visit this year. It is situated on three martplatz in the Altstadt. The largest of these is in front of the Rathouse (City hall). The other two were not far away.
In all candor, Freiburg might be my favorite city in Germany. If I could choose a German city to live in, Freiburg would be up there. First of all, it is a picturesque city, with a large Altstadt, some remaining city gates, and the Gothic Munster (i.e. large church but did not receive cathedral status as a bishop never used it as his headquarters). All of which have been well preserved and maintain. It might be the cleanest city in Germany, which is saying something. The downtown area that includes the Altstadt is quite active, commercially. Further, it is set between the Rhine and the Black forest in the southern part of German that is known for it's good weather and fine food. France is not far, nor is Switzerland. It is a university town. That and the size of the city helps support a good arts community. Plus, it has a great public transport system including light rail, and bus. Freiburg is on a main line of the Deutsche Bahn, so you have great access to the train system.
My personal favorite booth was the one that sold springerle presses. These press were a little different than I had previously seen as they were made of clay rather than carved out of wood. The guy at the booth explained that with clay, they can offer more detain in the form than with wood. Plus they are easier to clean. The detail and variety of these forms was truly amazing. They have a website a www.springerle.com where there are detailed pictures of the forms.
Hi, here is the guy from the booth. I am glad to find the picture in this Blog. I hope i´ll see you this year in Freiburg.
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