The "Neuer Markt" (the New Market Place) has grown in size!
Since it was re-designed it now offers more room for many of the main attractions of the popular Christmas Market. This is where, every day, on the stage of the fairytale castle you can greet
Father Christmas and his retinue, in the neighbouring fairytale woods there are storytellers,
carrousels tempt you to ride, and towering above it all, in all its majesty, the big wheel.
The Father Christmas secret
Traditionally the most beautiful market of the year starts with the arrival of Father Christmas -
and there's many a surprise in store for you here! The only thing we can be sure of is that, as
he has done for many years, he will steer his way to the Hanseatic City with the galleass GRETHE WITTING, a traditional sailing ship, and that punctually at 14:00 hrs on the Saturday of the opening weekend he will disembark in the City Centre Harbour.
What vehicle will bring Father Christmas, the fairy godmother and the retinue of fairies into the festively decorated city centre remains, every year, a well-kept secret. Keep an eye open for
Father Christmas as he wends his way from the old City Centre Harbour through the city to the
"Neuer Markt". At 15:00 hrs you will be able to see the ceremonial opening of the Rostock
Christmas Market on the stage of the fairytale castle and in the presence of Father Christmas,
the fairy godmother and their retinue of fairies.
Christmas trees as tall as towersThe tallest Christmas trees in the Hanseatic City will be those decorating the Kröpeliner Tor (one of the old city gates) and the Haus der Schifffahrt (Seafaring House). You will be amazed at the more than 20 metres tall North German fir trees from the Rostock Heath. Several thousand light bulbs and brightly coloured decorations will bring a glint to the eyes of not just the children, but everyone. From far away there will be visible the welcoming and festive streams of light beaming through the largest city in Mecklenburg West Pomerania.
Historical Christmas Market
Pay a visit to our historical Christmas market in Klosterhof, in the monastery gardens "Zum Heiligen Kreuz". The best way to get to the market this year is via Universitaetsplatz. Go across Universitaetsplatz past the university's main building and the entrance to the monastery is right in the corner.
The surroundings of the monastery gardens including the old town wall and the Cultural History Museum make the perfect place and invite you to feel the atmosphere of a market like this. You are brought back to the Middle Ages by 25 handycraft and trading stalls and a range of historic foods. Devour culinary delights like goat's goulash or Mutzbraten (pork, roasted on open birchwood fire, served with sauerkraut) or enter the medieval world of Nadin's tavern "Zum schwarzen Raben".
Watch a blacksmith at work or a woman felting, haggle with the wood carver or gown maker. Admire the works of silversmith, potter or tanner. Celebrate the winter solstice with the Vikings, take part in an archery tournament or try aiming with an axe.
A further attraction is the fairy tale tent and story teller. At dawn and in the evenings fire bowls and flaming torches spread a pleasant, festive atmosphere.
At weekends Captain Jack Sparrow, alias Arne Feuerschlund, and his pirates put on a spectacular show with games, fire and jugglery.
The entrance fee is:
Monday to Thursday free
Fridays from 5pm and at weekends adults 1 Euro toll and children below "sword length" free.
Christmas pyramidHistory has it that the Christmas pyramids had their beginning
in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) and are no older than about
300 years.
Far too big for your living room, there stands one such with a
height of 7 metres and a diameter of 5 metres on the Neuer Markt. On 4 stories you can see 22 figures which were, of course, made
in the region of the Erzgebirge.
Gigantic "Stollen" Christmas cake from Rostock's baker apprentices.
This too forms part of the tradition of the opening of the Rostock Christmas Market. The bakers' apprentices present on the stage of the fairytale castle a gigantic Stollen (Christmas cake) which is more than a metre long. After the official opening of the Rostock Christmas Market, at around 3:15 p.m. Father Christmas will cut the gigantic cake and will distribute pieces of the delicious Christmas titbit made in the bakery of the enterprise Stadtbäckerei Junge to the guests in front of the stage.
Every year a new Christmas fairytale
Something very special is the fairytale played out on the stage of the fairytale castle. It has been written by Father Christmas' wife, the fairy godmother, specially for the Rostock Christmas Market. As every year a new story will await you - as it has for the last 17 years - and you can watch it on every Saturday and Sunday at 16:00 hrs.
Music, songs and entertainment
Sing along to the tune of "With so much Stealth, in the ...". A good 60 programmes taking place on the stage of the fairytale castle will put you in the mood for Christmas. Every day from Monday to Friday at 15:00 hrs boys and girls from Rostock's children's day centres will be singing and playing with Father Christmas and the fairy godmother. At the same time, every day another door on the large Christmas Market Advent Calendar will be opened.
Original SouvenirsLet all of your senses enjoy the pre-Christmas mood! The scent of cinnamon and cloves will penetrate your nose, a sweet and spicy taste will invade your palate and a benevolent warmth will spread within you - the delicious mulled wine is an indispensable part of the Christmas Market experience.
Long since prized as collectors' items, every year there are newly designed mulled wine cups and "boots" bearing the skyline of the Rostock Christmas Market.
DelicaciesFancy something sweet? Or something a bit more savoury? Candied apples, deep-fried bananas, candy floss, baby doughnuts, burnt almonds, "Glögg" (a sort of Swedish mulled wine) and biscuits from Sweden, the smoked sausage from Rostock, the smoked fish from Warnemünde, north German fried fish in batter - Don't miss any of these culinary specialities on offer at the Rostock Christmas Market.
Traditional dishes according to North German recipes and the "taste sensations" of other regions will doubtless prove to be seductive - and more than once!
The fairytale woods in which stories are told:
9 scenes from fairytales with large figures, animals and houses just waiting for you to visit them in the fairytale woods at the "Kröpeliner Tor". Grimm's Mrs. Holle, the Hare and the Hedgehog, Snow-white and Sleeping Beauty - the miniature landscape whisks you away into the world of fairytales. And from the fir trees, the houses and the little towers come voices - the voices of the story-tellers - giving their reports as to what is going on in each of the scenes.
Still more of the Hanseatic City:
Alongside the Christmas Market, our Hanseatic City offers many further sights to be seen. For example, we would recommend that you visit the historical culture museum with its interesting exhibitions.
"Kloster zum Heiligen Kreuz" (Monastery of the Holy Cross),
open from Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 - 18:00 hrs.
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