Christmas Market at the Evangelisches Johannesstift Spandau

The Evangelisches Johannesstift

The Evangelisches Johannesstift in Berlin-Spandau is one of Germany's oldest diaconal institutions - founded in 1858 by theologian Johann Hinrich Wichern. On approximately 70 hectares of parkland on the edge of the Spandauer Forst (Hakenfelde district) are the collegiate church, boarding school, nursing home, conference center, staff apartments, and its own cemetery. The area is located in the middle of nature and yet only 25 minutes from Berlin's city center by U-Bahn and bus - an unusual contrast.

The Christmas Market around the Collegiate Church

Once a year - traditionally on the last Saturday in November or the first Saturday in Advent - the Johannesstift opens its grounds for a small Christmas market. The market is located around the Stiftskirche (collegiate church) on Lindenplatz - a neo-Gothic brick church consecrated in 1898, which forms the spatial center of the area. The concept is classic and manageable:

• Family service as the opening (typically 11 am)
• Following: Market with arts and crafts, homemade goods, baked goods
• Choirs and brass bands from thestift and the community
• Mulled wine, punch, bratwurst, potato pancakes, waffles
• Cake and coffee in the community room
• Children's program with storytelling and crafts

Atmosphere and Audience

Unlike the large Christmas markets in Berlin's city center, the market at Johannesstift is a real community market: many stalls are run by residents of the stift, from the boarding school, by confirmation candidates, or by the community. The proceeds go to the diaconal work. The audience is mixed: local residents from Hakenfelde, residents of the stift and their families, families from Spandau, occasionally Berliners from other districts who combine a quiet Advent walk in the Spandauer Forst with a visit to the market.

Spandau in Advent

The Spandau district has a particularly rich Advent landscape: the large Spandau Christmas Market in the old town attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors, the Spandauer Winterland on the former post office site is new, plus several small church and community markets. The Johannesstift market is the quietest and perhaps most authentic among them - anyone who wants to avoid hustle and bustle and experience a contemplative Advent day with their family will be right at home here. A walk through the stift grounds with its old trees, the church, and the cemetery is part of the experience.