Town Centre

Christmas Market

If you’re in Weimar during the festive season, don’t miss Weimar’s Advent Calendar – it’s the Gothic town hall on the market square with its windows specially decorated. Every day in December a new window is opened. A fire engine arrives to hoist two ore three lucky children up to window level where Father Christmas greets them with a small gift. Enjoy the sense of anticipation and browse the stalls for crafts, mulled wine and Christmas surprises. Weimar is proud of its Christmas traditions. It had the first public Christmas tree and is where Johannes Falk wrote the popular Christmas carol “O Du fröhliche”.

Specials & program:

• the Weimar Christmas factory
• the fairy tale tent
• the Town Hall turns into a huge Advent calendar
• typical German Christmas tree decorations

Friday to Sunday:

• choirs, Trompet concerts, Carillon concerts from the Town Hall Tower on Market square

Date: 25th November to 22nd  December 2010
opening times: daily from 11 am to 9pm

for packages and offers for the festive season please see details

Town Centre / Market Square

Flower Market

“There’s a lack of flowers in the area,” wrote Goethe in ‘Easter Walk’, one of his most famous poems. But there’s no reason to complain now – for a few weeks after Easter, flower-growers and horticulturalists (including aspiring ones!) meet up at Weimar Flower Market at the height of the planting season. For many people in Weimar, the Flower Market is an opportunity to pose questions to experts and get their balconies and gardens shipshape.

Date: 16th of May 2010

Town Centre / Frauenplan

Wine Festival

Drink a Toast to Goethe
This friendly wine festival, the focal point of Weimar's Goethe Birthday celebrations, has visitors flocking to Frauenplan square to raise their glasses and drink a toast to the great man. Wine merchants present a selection of wines from all over Germany's wine growing regions. Locals and visitors sit out late into the night over a glass of wine or tow and listen to the entertainment.

Date: 26th to 29th of August 2010

Market Square

Potter Market

Potters from all over Thuringia gather on the market square to demonstrate their skills and sell their finished creations. Visitors watch as the clay is turned and shaped on the potter wheel and browse the stalls to see which pottery most appeals. Styles range from the traditional to the avant-garde but the quality of the craftsmanship is always high. The Potter Market has the feel of a local fair and lasts three days. It also has a programme of events including a traditional potters guild ceremony.

Date: 4th and 5th of September 2010

Town Centre

Onion Market

The humble onion is the star of the Onion Market held in Weimar every October. These are no ordinary onions lumped together in crates or sacks; these are onions plaited together in the traditional way and decorated with dried flowers of yellow, white or lilac. They come in all sizes too – from tiny ones to a whopping big one.

With more than 300 000 visitors over three days, the Onion Market is Thuringia biggest local fair. The 2010 Onion Market – the 357^th – will have 500 stalls offering onion plaits, crafts and tasty treats like onion cake or onion soup. A variety of artists will also be performing - there will be more than 100 performances on the stages within the city.

Date: 8th to 10th October 2010