Höchstädt Christmas Market

Advent Market with Renaissance Castle View

Höchstädt an der Donau is one of the most beautiful small Danube towns in Bavarian Swabia. Striking landmarks: the mighty Renaissance castle (16th century), the parish church of Maria Himmelfahrt with Baroque furnishings, the historic town hall, and an impressive market square with old burgher houses. It is on this market square that the city of Höchstädt, together with the local business association, hosts its Christmas market every year on the second weekend of Advent.

What's Available

• Advent Stalls: local clubs, artisans, and restaurateurs offering arts and crafts, gifts, Christmas decorations
• Mulled Wine: from regional breweries and wineries
• Food: Bavarian-Swabian Advent specialties — gingerbread, bratwurst, Schäufele, Maultaschen, cookies
• Live Music: brass bands, choirs, Advent songs on the market stage
• Children's Program: visits from the Christkind and St. Nicholas, craft activities
• Festively Illuminated Market Square: thousands of lights around the historic town center

Höchstädt — Renaissance Town on the Danube

Höchstädt an der Donau (around 7,500 inhabitants) is an old Danube town in the district of Dillingen an der Donau. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the town was the seat of the Counts Palatine, and Höchstädt Castle is one of the most beautiful Renaissance castles in Southern Germany (now a museum). Höchstädt gained international fame in 1704 through the Battle of Höchstädt in the War of the Spanish Succession — one of the most important battles of early modern history, in which the English general John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (ancestor of the famous Winston Churchill), along with Prince Eugene, defeated the Franco-Bavarian army.

Danube-Ries — the Quiet Heart of Southern Germany

Höchstädt is located in the Danube-Ries, a flat Danube floodplain landscape between Donauwörth and Ulm. During Advent, tourists often spend their time here with excursions to Dillingen (university town with a Baroque town center), Nördlingen (town wall walk), or Donauwörth (Imperial City backdrop) — and the Höchstädt Christmas Market fits in as one of the charming smaller Advent stops on this journey.

When to Go?

Friday evening for the festive opening (typically 6–10 PM), Saturday evening for the full market atmosphere (4–10 PM), Sunday afternoon for a relaxed family visit (3–8 PM). Its smaller, more intimate character makes the Höchstädt Christmas Market an alternative to the large crowded markets in Augsburg, Ulm, or Munich.