Adventsmarkt in der Papierstraße – Alt-Reinickendorf

Reinickendorf Workshop Market with a Clear Social Profile

Reinickendorf, with around 270,000 inhabitants, is a large district of Berlin in the northwest of the city. The district of Alt-Reinickendorf is its historical core, compactly located between the S-Bahn and U-Bahn stations Alt-Reinickendorf. This is where Steg gGmbH is based in Papierstraße – a social organization that operates workshops for people with disabilities: a paper workshop, a textile workshop, and a wool workshop. Twice during Advent, these workshops open their doors to the public and showcase what is created there throughout the year.

Curated Selection from Three Workshops

Unlike the large commercial Christmas markets in Berlin, the market in Papierstraße offers a clearly focused selection: only products from the three workshops of Steg gGmbH, only handmade, only in small quantities. The paper workshop produces calendars, notebooks, postcards, gift boxes, and cards; the textile workshop produces cushions, bags, and smaller fabric items; the wool workshop produces knitwear and fairy lights made from textile materials. Prices are fair for handmade individual pieces.

Social Background

Purchasing here not only supports a handicraft product but also the employees of the Steg gGmbH workshops. The organization arranges work, employment, and training for people with various disabilities – the workshops are a piece of lived Berlin social community. This is also why the market feels more personal than the large Christmas markets in the city center: the people selling here have made the items themselves.

Small, Compact, Twice During Advent

The market does not take place continuously but on two separate days during Advent (2025: November 20 and December 4, from 1 PM to 6 PM each day). The format is deliberately kept small – a few hours, a manageable number of visitors, time for conversations and workshop visits. Travel by S-Bahn and U-Bahn is directly accessible. Free admission.