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the market was expanded from a single day
to encompass the Monday before Christmas
through December 24. While the location of
the Striezelmarkt has changed many times
over the centuries, today it is held in the
same place as the original 1434 meat market:
Dresden's Altmarkt square, the city's oldest.
While Christmas markets had begun to spring
up in the years following the introduction of
the Striezelmarkt, the 16th centur y is when
they truly began to proliferate across the
continent. In addition to celebrating the
festive season and providing a vehicle through
which local vendors could sell their wares,
they offered busy townspeople a way to
procure ever y thing they needed for Christmas
in one convenient location. Today, Europe's
Christmas markets are enjoyed by locals
and visitors alike. Perhaps take a moment to
mar vel at their long histor y as you explore
the land in which many of our most cherished
Christmas traditions began.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND
DRESDEN, GERMANY
