Calbe Christmas Market

A Traditional Christmas Market in the Saale Town

Calbe (Saale) is located in the Salzlandkreis district on the west bank of the Saale river, about 30 km south of Magdeburg. The small town with just over 9,000 inhabitants is surrounded by the agricultural Magdeburg Börde — fertile black soils that have been among the most productive in Germany for centuries. In Advent, the town opens its market square for a Christmas market that consciously focuses on tradition rather than size.

The third Advent weekend has been the set date for decades. Three days of programming — Friday to Sunday — with a focus on a form of event that has disappeared in most German cities: the big Christmas sing-along. On Friday evening between 7 and 8 p.m., citizens gather in the market square and sing classic Christmas carols together, led by a band from neighboring Gommern. A rare, charming tradition.

Pyramid, Fir Tree, Brauner Hirsch

In the center of the market square stands a large Christmas tree, specially felled and erected for the festive season, as well as a traditional, multi-story Christmas pyramid. Both elements create the image that is in many memories of a classic East German Christmas market. In the courtyard of the "Brauner Hirsch" inn, a children's Christmas event takes place concurrently with craft and hands-on activities for the youngest guests.

Calbe, Salzlandkreis, Saxony-Anhalt

Anyone interested in unadorned folk traditions will find themselves in the right place in Calbe. The town is a living example of the identity of small towns in Saxony-Anhalt — with its own local history museum, its own sports club, and a Christmas market that thrives more on community than on commercial staging.