Lübeck Christmas City — Christmas City of the North

Since 1648 — Northern Germany's oldest Christmas City

The Lübeck Christmas City looks back on almost 400 years of history: the first Christmas market in the Hanseatic city was officially documented as early as 1648 — making Lübeck one of Germany's oldest Christmas market locations. Today, the Hanseatic city proudly bears the title Christmas City of the North and is one of the most important Christmas market destinations in the German-speaking world, alongside Nuremberg and Dresden.

Lübeck is located in the state of Schleswig-Holstein and, with around 220,000 inhabitants, is the second-largest city in the state after Kiel. The Old Town — completely surrounded by the River Trave and the Elbe-Lübeck Canal — has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987 and forms the spectacular backdrop for the Christmas City.

Several Christmas Worlds in One City

Unlike most major German cities, Lübeck does not concentrate its Christmas markets in one central square but distributes them as Christmas Worlds throughout the entire Old Town:

• Lübeck Christmas Market at the Market Square — the classic market directly in front of the Town Hall, with mulled wine, bratwurst, jewelry, and toys.
• Historical Christmas Market in the Holy Spirit Hospital — arts and crafts in a medieval ambiance, craftspeople in historical costumes, traditional specialties.
• Maritime Christmas Market — directly on the Untertrave with harbor flair and maritime decorations.
• Arts and Crafts Market in the Klosterhof / Schrangen with selected artisans.
• Christmas Wonderland with a Ferris wheel and family program.
• City of Lights — the festive illumination of the entire Old Town with fir trees, fairy lights, and stars.

Concerts in the Gothic Brick Churches

Lübeck's five Gothic brick churches — St. Mary's Church, the Cathedral, St. Peter's Church, St. James' Church, and St. Giles' Church — are venues for numerous concerts during Advent: Bach cantatas, organ concerts, brass Advent music, and choir concerts. St. Mary's Church, in particular, with its famous organ tradition (Buxtehude was organist here), attracts an international audience during Advent.

Marzipan, Mulled Wine, and Travemünde

Lübeck is world-famous for its marzipan — the Niederegger, Mest, and Carstens manufactories have shaped the city's reputation for generations. In Advent, marzipan advent calendars, marzipan stollen, and elaborate marzipan sculptures become the main selling points. For those seeking an even more wintry experience, the S-Bahn train to the Baltic Sea is an option — the seaside resort of Travemünde is a district of Lübeck and has its own beach Christmas market.