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Christmas Markets as Place-Makers

Author

Klaus Philipsen

 

Holiday pop-up installation: bakery
Pop-up installations are all the rage. What is more pop-up than an open air market? It is in the nature of such markets to be not there one day and there another, bringing additional people into public spaces. The open air market is an altogether excellent place-making device. Like Russian dolls that nest inside each other, markets can create streets within a street, plazas on a plaza and a village inside a city. The booths and stalls are the buildings and stores, the spaces in between the streets and the intersections become small squares. Seasonal farmers markets have spread like wildfire all across America and no surprise that this popularity coincides with the general renaissance of cities during the past decade or so.
A city within a city: The Weihnachtsmarkt Stuttgart on the Marktplatz


It comes as a surprise, then, that the European tradition of Christmas markets has not caught on in the US in the same way, even if there is a recent wave of German "Christkindlemarkets" listed on christmasmarkets.com which appear to be a concerted commercial effort of creating those markets "in vitro".

By contrast, especially German Christmas markets have a very long tradition (supposedly back to the mid 1400s) and have developed in a variety of ways across Europe.  The Nuremburg market has been a major tourist attraction for decades for which Americans fly across the Atlantic to see it. I recall that my small hometown of Heidenheim had a Weihnachtsmarkt which in the sixties was a one day affair of lights and festivity that has since given way to a longer and more elaborate installation in the same way as many larger cities have propped up their Christkindles (literally Christchild) markets as a regional draw that seems to draw bigger crowds every year. There are at least 60 German cities with notable holiday markets, all are ostensibly designed to replace the blues of the short, cold and grey German days through singing, lights, flavors and company.

Painting of a historic Christmas market (Hof, Germany)


As if the modern world of I-phones, virtual reality, central heating and international restaurant cuisine would be suspended for the time around the winter solstice in favor of handmade goodies sold in little wooden booths in a manner that was maybe state of the art in the 1400s. Today the candles have been replaced with electric string lights and open fires to heat the feet of vendors have become kerosene heaters. But the people still warm themselves with spiced molten wine (Gluehwein), freshly roasted almonds and the warm feeling that comes from being in the company of all the other towns people pushing through the narrow streets formed by the vending stalls on both sides. Forgotten are the dietary restrictions when people splurge on grilled sausages (Bratwurst), heart shaped Lebkuchen with heart warming frosting inscriptions (Ich liebe dich) and all the other rustic food offerings that harp back to times past.

Every year in Advent Stuttgart is transformed into a glittering Christmas city! Stuttgart's Christmas Market with over 282 beautifully decorated stalls is not only one of the oldest but without doubt also one of the largest of its kind in the whole of Europe. Its illuminations are second to none, the festive concerts of seasonal music in the Renaissance courtyard of the Old Palace and the "Winterland" on the Palace Square all contribute to the incomparable Christmas atmosphere which enchants millions of visitors year after year.


One can only guess why this tradition has not had as much success in the United States so far. It could be the name. How can a public market be defined by a word pertaining to only one set of religions? The singing of Christmas songs intoned by church choirs standing on the steps of whatever city hall facing market square would certainly also be frowned upon for the same reason. Then there is public drinking of alcohol, a much restricted affair here and very liberally handled in much of Europe. And the weather thing. Would Americans trot through snow and slush and freeze their tushs for a bunch of kitschy crafts and unhealthy foods?

Denver Christkindl Market, part of the Kaethe Wohlfahrt empire


The recent holiday market imports we see from Philadelphia to Chicago, Baltimore and Denver show that the US versions are somewhat modernized reflections of a corporate world. They rely heavily on corporate sponsors, are in part inside large heated tents and somehow boosted by an international version of the German Chamber of Commerce and the German Christmas craft company Kathe Wohlfahrt.

Kathe Wohlfahrt, the famous German specialist for Christmas ornaments from Rothenburg ob der Tauber will contribute to a festive atmosphere at Christmas Village in Baltimore. In a spacious sales area of the heated festival tent Kathe Wohlfahrt will present a world of beautiful handcrafted Christmas ornaments and collectibles. http://www.christmasfromgermany.com.

Many of those markets have the same set of merchandise and include indoor arrangements. The heated white tents somehow defeat the atmosphere and place-making characteristics of the original concept, an ironic twist if one considers that the Wohlfahrt Christmas empire originated in Herrenberg, a small German market town with one of the most intimate and beautiful market squares around.

Market inside a tent: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania


Nevertheless, not to be a Grinch, the US Christmas markets represent a good start for what could be a transformative revitalization concept for ailing wintery retail districts in US cities.

In Baltimore, of course, that would mean that the market should not be at the Inner Harbor alongside the glitzy hotels but, for example, a pop-up installation on the open lot next to the Lexington Market (an indoor market) or on Howard Street, once Baltimore's premier shopping street. Such a market would be even more inspiring if it like the farmers markets would boast local wares, local crafts and holiday culture instead of clinging to German crafts, organizations and traditions. This way, the great tradition of these holiday markets could become a tool of urban revitalization.

Happy Holidays!

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA

The Five Best European Christmas Markets
When is a Market is more than just a Market?

Placemaking: A street in a German Weihnachtsmarkt

 

Stuttgart, Schillerplatz, Christmas Market 

 

Weihnachtsmarkt Esslingen, near Stuttgart, Germany

 

Christkind Market Dresden, Germany

 

Chicago had a Christkindlmarket since 1997

 

Chicago Market

 

Piazza Navone Christmas Market, Rome, Italy
Weihnachtsmarkt Heidenheim, Germany
Baltimore at the Inner Harbor

 

Stuttgart Market, Schillerplatz