What to eat and shop from Christmas markets in Europe
They say Christmas markets began in Germany around the13th or 14th century for people to exchange and barter for winter. The tradition continues as local confectioners sell roasted chestnuts in Vienna, chimney cakes in Budapest and honeyed gingerbread in Prague keeping the buzz alive
Against the shimmering white façade of Vienna’s Rathaus (town hall) with its neo-Gothic architecture, pretty yellow lights flicker and dance. Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, who hold sway in this city of music, take a back seat for about six weeks as Christmas tunes fill the air.
Standing on the periphery of Wiener Christkindlmarkt am Rathausplatz, the city’s oldest, largest and most spectacular Christmas market, the overriding sensory perception is that of smell as flavours waft from a profusion of stalls. In one corner, chestnuts slow-roasting on a large skillet give off a nutty aroma, enticing me to buy a packet. They are hot, crunchy, soft and entirely addictive.
As I push inside the market, other aromas make themselves felt: spicy fragrance from gingerbread and cookies, smoky whiffs from wursts (sausages) roasting over coals, and heady, mellow scent of mulled wine. Despite the late November cold, the festive atmosphere is all pervasive.
On offer are Viennese sweets such as sachertorte (chocolate cake) as well as other Austrian specialities like apfelstrudel (apple strudel), lebkuchen (gingerbread) and chrisstollen (fruit bread). And then there are kartoffelpuffer (potato pancakes), bratkartoffeln (roasted potato wedges), schnitzel (breaded cutlets) and baked apples.
Versions of this scene are replicated across Europe during this time of the year. It is believed that Christmas markets began in Germany sometime in 13th or 14th century for people to exchange and barter for the long and cold winter months. Others say they began as places for local confectioners, toy makers and artisans to sell items that were exchanged as children’s gifts during the holiday season.
Nevertheless, the concept grew and spread all over Europe and beyond. Today there are estimated to be thousands that spring up during the holiday season, with Germany alone hosting close to 3,000. From the end of November to the beginning of January, central squares across European towns and cities turn into fairytale scenes. With this humungous number, each market vies to be different, spanning the gamut from traditional and historical to modern and fantasy-like. Apart from the myriad other attractions, it is the food that is an absolute delight.
On the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the picturesque town of Montreux is all about music: a popular jazz festival, a museum dedicated to the rock band Queen and a towering statue of Freddie Mercury. Come Christmas and the town sings a different tune. A Swiss-chalet themed market springs up on the lake’s bank and dishes up delights to warm every cheese-lover’s heart: bubbling raclette and moitié-moitié (half and half) fondue with Vacherin Fribourgeois and Gruyère cheeses. For a more elevated experience, there’s also pan-seared foie-gras. Not to be missed are fried apple rings and flammkuchen (savoury flat bread slices).
Prague’s storybook old town gets even more like a dreamland with a profusion of light festoons. But the place to head to is the Staromestske Namesti (Old Town Square), surrounded by ancient Gothic buildings, for a mouth-watering treat. It’s best to start with honeyed gingerbread and then move on to vanocka (a kind of bread filled with raisins) and vosi hnizda (nutty cookies with rum) and traditional Czech muffins and cakes. There are meaty indulgences such as barbecued pork and blood sausages.
The Christmas market in Budapest’s Vorosmarty Square is known for its traditional handicrafts and food such as beigli (rolled pastry with poppy/walnuts), szaloncukor (traditional fondant/jelly candy), stuffed cabbage and goulash. Not to be missed are kurtoskalacs (chimney or spit cake) that are spiral and hollow and coated with sugar dust. They are served hot and get their name because of the smoke emanating from the inside.
In Copenhagen, the most famous Christmas market is a bit like a fantasy inside a fantasy: it is located inside the magical Tivoli Gardens with trees decked in beautiful lights and decorations. It’s the perfect backdrop to sample aebleskiver (iced doughnuts filled with black currant jam) kanelsnegle (cinnamon bun/pastry), flaeskesteg (roast pork sandwich) and Danish hot dogs.
In Paris’ Tuileries Garden market, the overriding favourites are chestnut soup, crepes and pretzels, while Belgium’s markets are a potato-lover’s dream come true with pommes frites doused in a choice of sauces; for others, there are waffles and mussels.
Of the several thousand German Christmas markets, a few stand out. Like Dresden’s Striezelmarkt, considered the country’s oldest with a history going back to the 15th century. Visitors come here to feast on stollen, a traditional dense cake filled with nuts, candied fruits and spices. In Esslingen, which hosts the iconic Mittelaltermarkt or Medieval Christmas Market, stalls are lit by oil lamps, and vendors wear animal skins and dish up dumplings, stuffed hemp flatbread, snails, venison goulash, flambeed tartes and hot maisfladen (thin corn pizza with onions, carrots and lamb).
Zagreb’s Ban Jelacic Square hosts the city’s best Christmas market, one that has won several awards. Apart from licitar, red candy hearts that are Zagreb’s most iconic symbol, the market is filled with stalls selling kobasica, (sausages) that are juicy and grilled, and served inside a soft bun topped with piquant ajvar (roasted sweet pepper relish). There’s a profusion of sweet treats: fritule (mini round doughnuts), germknedla (steamed dumpling filled with plum jam and doused in vanilla sauce), strudel and kremsnita (flaky pastry layered with custard and sweet cream).
Over the years, each country, city and town have strived to make their markets unique and rooted in the region. As I bite into a slice of stollen at Striezelmarkt, it evokes the dish’s nearly 500-year-old antecedents, how a change in its ingredients (the addition of butter) required Pope Innocent VIII’s nod, and how it became a symbol of gratitude sent from east to west when the country was divided (1945-90).
Anita Rao Kashi is an independent journalist based in Bengaluru.
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