Weihnachtsmarkt Marzahner Promenade

Marzahn – a prefab-housing district with its own Christmas culture

The Marzahn district (Marzahn-Hellersdorf borough, in the far east of Berlin) is, with around 100,000 inhabitants, one of the largest prefab-housing districts in Germany. Marzahner Promenade is its central pedestrian street – a colourful shopping mile that runs between the S-Bahn station Marzahn and Schloss Biesdorf. In early December, the promenade turns into a Christmas market with a clear neighbourhood signature.

Three market sites, one shared spirit

What is characteristic of the market is its split across three squares along the promenade: the main Christmas market with food stalls and a stage, the sustainability-oriented SchaMottchen Adventsmarkt (handmade, regional, sustainable) and the Gemeindehof Adventsmarkt of the Marzahn village church. The three sites are placed so that visitors can reach all three on foot within an hour.

Programme pillars

The programme pillars have stayed stable over the years: performances by local choirs and schools (Christmas community singing, the Bolshoi Don Cossacks in the village church during Advent), torchlight concert for families in the evening, Raku show firing at the SchaMottchen Adventsmarkt (ceramics fired outdoors), theatre plays such as «Märchentrüffel», homemade cakes in the parish café, and an Advent service at the village church.

Food from all over the world

The location in an international district (Marzahn has a high share of families with roots in Eastern Europe, Vietnam and the Middle East) is reflected at the food stalls: classic German Christmas cuisine (Glühwein, bratwurst, roasted almonds) meets Russian, Polish, Vietnamese and Syrian specialties – a rather unusual mix for a Berlin Christmas market that makes sense precisely in Marzahn.

Marzahn-Hellersdorf borough

The market is clearly anchored in the Marzahn-Hellersdorf borough of the federal state of Berlin – a region with a strong identity, far from the tourist bustle around Mitte or Charlottenburg. Anyone looking for a Christmas market without coach-party crowds, but with genuine neighbourhood character, is in the right place here.

2026 dates

Most recent confirmed edition: 29 November – 1 December 2024. The market takes place annually on the first Advent weekend. The date for December 2026 will be announced on marzahner-promenade.berlin and in the Berlin Christmas market directory (berlin.de).