Weihnachtsmarkt with Advent Exhibition Bergenhusen

Advent in the Stork Village

Bergenhusen — known as the «Storchendorf» (stork village) with one of the densest white stork breeding colonies in Central Europe — celebrates its Weihnachtsmarkt every year in late autumn. When the storks have long since migrated to Africa, another form of life returns to the village: Advent atmosphere in the community center «Alte Meierei», the central meeting point of the community on Bäckerstroot.

Market in the Community Center

The Weihnachtsmarkt combines a classic Advent market with an Advent exhibition: stalls with handicrafts from Stapelholm, Christmas decorations, homemade baked goods, and regional specialties fill the rooms and the grounds around the Alte Meierei. Clubs from the village — fire department, rural women, support association of the primary school — offer refreshments.

Family Program

The program is tailored for families: decorating the Christmas tree together, musical contributions from the village community, a nativity play or puppet theater for children, and the traditional visit of Santa Claus. In the past, a short church service took place parallel in the nearby baroque village church from 1712.

Stapelholm in Advent

Stapelholm — the quiet marshland between the Eider, Treene, and Sorge rivers — is considered one of the most natural regions in Schleswig-Holstein. In Advent, the otherwise quiet Bergenhusen gains new energy for a day: the Weihnachtsmarkt is the first real event of the Advent season for many families, far from the large commercial markets of Kiel or Hamburg.