Grottenadvent Feengrotten

Saalfeld Fairy Caves — Underground World Heritage

The Saalfeld Fairy Caves in Thuringia are unique worldwide: a former alum shale mine, abandoned in the 19th century, where colourful stalactites and sinter formations have since formed due to water ingress and minerals. The walls shimmer in red, green, blue, ochre, yellow — a splendour of colours for which the mine was included in the Guinness Book of Records in 1993 as the 'most colourful show caves in the world'. The Fairy Caves are located in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district, on the outskirts of Saalfeld/Saale, and are open all year round.

Advent Underground — A Unique Tradition

The Grottenadvent uses the special acoustics and atmosphere of the underground halls for a pre-Christmas concert format. In the three show caves — Olympia, Märchendom, Gralsburg — local choirs, instrumental groups, and vocal ensembles perform. The natural reverberation of the stone caverns amplifies every sound, creating a contemplative mood that no above-ground concert hall can offer. The lighting in the caves is adjusted festively — the colourful minerals sparkle in the play of light.

Christmas Market in the Park

Above ground, in the spacious park around the entrance to the Fairy Caves, a small Christmas market is set up in parallel. Stalls with regional craftspeople from the Schiefergebirge and the Thuringian Forest offer wooden figures, ceramics, textiles, felt crafts, and Advent decorations. Mulled wine, punch, bratwurst, gingerbread, and Thuringian specialities cater to visitors. The combination of an underground concert and an above-ground market makes the Grottenadvent an unusual Advent format.

Saalfeld, Saale-Schiefergebirge, Thuringian Forest

Saalfeld/Saale is the district town of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt and lies on the Saale river at the transition to the Thuringian Slate Mountains. The town is known as the 'Fairy Cave Town' but also boasts a noteworthy historic old town with a market square, town museum, and St. John's Church. In Advent, in addition to the Grottenadvent, the Saalfeld Christmas market in the old town and the nearby Schwarzburg Castle Advent offer further atmospheric events — ideal for an Advent weekend in Southern Thuringia.