Until the seventies and eighties of the 19th century, it was common for Frankfurt parents to buy toys for their children exclusively at the Christmas market.
"Brenten", "Bethmännchen" and "Quetschemännchen" can look back on a centuries-old tradition as typical Frankfurt baked goods.
In earlier times, they were produced in large quantities in the city's town houses.
One of the greatest admirers of old Frankfurt Christmas nibbles was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who, even as a privy councillor in distant Weimar, received a parcel of his beloved "Brenten" from his mother every year for the festive season.
The Swabian poet Eduard Mörike even dedicated a long poem with seven verses to the
Frankfurt "Brenten", in which he even gives tips on how to make them.
Today, the Frankfurt Christmas market is one of the most important Christmas markets in Germany due to its size and number of visitors.
Every year, the old town of the Main metropolis around Paulsplatz, Römerberg, Liebfrauenberg, Fahrtor and Mainkai is transformed into a romantic market in the pre-Christmas Advent period, the focal point of which is the approximately 30-metre-high Christmas tree festively decorated with hundreds of lights in front of the town hall, the Römer.
The landmark of the Frankfurt Christmas market, the Christmas tree, is one of the tallest in Germany every year at around 30 meters.
The scent of mulled wine, hot apple wine and roasted almonds are just as much a part of the Frankfurt Christmas market as the traditional baked goods and the varied accompanying programme.
You can find the 2017 Christmas market program HERE
On the Saturday before 1. Advent and Christmas Eve, all fifty bells of Frankfurt's ten inner-city churches unite for a unique concert.
More Christmas specials:
The big Frankfurt-Tipp.de Christmas special: Introduction and origins
The Christmas tree and other Christmas symbols
Christmas greetings from around the world
Christmas traditions around the world I
