Christmas fairs in Austria

Christmas fairs in Austria.

It’s almost Christmas time!! That means that the streets are full of Christmas lights, people buying presents for their families and of course „Christmas fairs“. In Austria we love seeing our friends in the evening at a Christmas fair for a “Glühwein”, which is called hot mulled wine in English.

Christmas fairs are very traditional in Austria. The first time that Christmas fairs are mentioned in history was in 1722 in Vienna. From 1843 until the Second World War the Viennese Christmas fair took place in front of the Palace annually from the beginning of December until Christmas. In 1872 all markets in Vienna had to close down, despite the Christmas fair. Even in the hard times of the first and the Second World War the Christmas fair took place and gave the people the opportunity to relax and have a good time.

Today there are Christmas fairs in almost all cities and even villages among Austria. The biggest and most famous one is still the Viennese, which takes place close to the town hall.

In Graz there is one “main” Christmas fair at the Hauptplatz and many small ones all around the city. I personally prefer to visit the smaller ones as they often have very special kinds of mulled wine, such as “Orangenpunsch”. My friends and I love to stroll along the little cottages where you can find handmade jewellery, sweets, winter clothes, good tasting food and of course good tasting hot drinks.

I can really recommend those markets, as they are full of Christmas flair. You can really feel how Christmas is coming closer and closer and how relaxed people get during the advent.

Probably Christmas fairs in Austria aren’t as romantic and extravagant as in England or America. Still, I love to visit them as they show some kind of the Austrian tradition and culture.