Berlin: Christmas market at Gendarmenmarkt

The best thing about the Christmas market at Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin is its location, elegantly delimited and guarded by the two twin towers of the (almost identical) French and German Doms, standing there since the 18th century.

Both towers were destroyed in the war, and the cathedrals severely damaged, so they have been massively repaired and reconstructed. The backdrop of the Christmas market is the monumental Concert Hall / Konzerthaus, also a little ‘patched up’ after the war.

This wonderful classical square is the setting for the “winter magic”, the WeihnachtsZauber am Gendarmenmarkt.

I admit, I am always a little hesitant to go there. A winter market, especially a ‘magical’ one, is all about atmosphere and expectations. You approach the square, you see the white pointed tents, like snowy mountain tops under bright golden stars. You can already smell the cinnamon and the simmering Feuerzangenbowle and hear the seasonal music, and feel your Christmas gauges steadily rising to “jolly and bright” and then – disc scratch sound – you need to stand in a line to get a ticket (for the symbolic sum of 1 euro, partly donated later to charity, which is not the point, the queue being the point. Actually the line). Then, for security reasons, somebody in a uniform searches your bag for forbidden items. Got no dog either? You’re good to go.

You drag your slightly shattered winter magic mood into the market and… is this an a la carte restaurant with business suites inside? And is that an Italian restaurant over there? Is there such thing as a Christmas pizza? And what would you put on it?

Maybe it’s just me, but my purist Christmas-loving inner elf cringes a little while walking by menus with deer ragout and Italian pasta plates, and the possibility of having an “exclusive Christmas party for up to 45 people” in a five-star pop up restaurant in the middle of the fair.

So my inner purist elf, sulkily posing as a less tragic Little Girl with Matches, span on his heels away from all this debauchery and headed for a more traditional German proletarian treat.

Raclette! No, no, no, that’s Swiss. Langos? That’s delicious! And Hungarian, save that for later. Currywurst with kale! That’s just disgusting and should be banned from the Wurst League. How about a good ol’ pig’s leg with Sauerkraut? Or a goose rump with red cabbage? Candied apple? Mutzenmandeln? Oma’s Kartoffel soup? Free hugs? Wait, what?

One can indulge in so many delicious snacks (and main courses, to go). There are also several nice and not so fancy interior dining options which you may prefer to being in the cold, slightly shivering, mustard dripping on your chin, but I’d rather have the plebeian alternative of eating while standing in a bustling crowd, perching your hot wine mug on Schiller’s left foot. That would be the formal gentleman on the pedestal, hindering your view on the stage.

Yes, a stage! Because at the Christmas market at Gendarmenmarkt there is a varied artistic programme, with music, dancing, singing and all sorts of entertainers mingling with the crowds. To that add the arts and crafts presence, which, due to the limited space and quite high-brow quality of the event, is very carefully selected every year.

And it always draws up a huge crowd. It might not be right up your traditional winter fair alley, but it’s probably the most sophisticated Christmas market in Berlin, in one of its classiest spots.

More pictures in the gallery below.

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