Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market

Beer, sausage, cheese & chocolates. The Germans sure chose a fine selection of foods to become internationally known for! D and I made a visit to Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market in the city center one night last week with some friends and felt obliged to pay homage to German culture by taking part in some of the hearty eating and drinking that was going on.

With over 2 million visitors a year, the market is the largest authentic German Christmas market outside of Germany or Austria, and apparently Frankfurt is Birmingham's "partner city" under some EU sister city program. The market here opened mid-November in Victoria Square and runs until December 23rd (although I have heard rumors that the city council are considering leaving it open until February, since it has brought so much life to the central business district). It's open all day, from 10am to 9pm, which has allowed me to nip over during my afternoon holiday shopping outings for a mug of mulled cider or a hot Bratwurst sandwich.

The shops are found in cute little timber huts which have been erected around Victoria Square and down part of New Street, all covered in pine boughs and holly. About 1/2 of the stalls are food oriented, selling roasted nuts, marzipan loafs, chocolate treats, hard candies, soft pretzels, Germans sausages, German breads, and of course beer, mulled cider and mulled wine (Gluhwein). The remaining stalls sell mostly craft-work or handmade gifts, including ceramics, candles, glasswork, jewellery and Christmas decorations. A number of stalls also feature traditional German items such as wooden toys, nativity scenes and marionettes.

I found out that the origins of the Christmas Market in Frankfurt can be traced back to 1393. In Medieval times, Frankfurt originally apparently held the Christmas Market exclusively for the burghers (members of the governing class), while the city craftsmen reserved their finest wares for local people.

Most of the crafts for sale aren't really my cup of tea, but there's definitely some fine handiwork on display. I really enjoyed seeing people out during their lunch hours having mugs of beer and hot cocoa, watching children from some of the local schools sing Christmas carols up on the small stage near the top of Victoria Square. In the evenings workers crowd around the beer stalls drinking in groups and avoiding their holiday to-do lists. It feels altogether cheerful considering the weather and the economic climate that would otherwise be dampening spirits at this time of year. As the German's say: Froehliche Weihnachten!!