Venue
Innere Altstadt, 01067 Dresden, Germany
{{item.title}}
Striezelmarkt, Dresden guide
Stollen and Erzgebirge crafts on the Altmarkt.
In short
Christmas market lovers can visit the 592nd Striezelmarkt from 25 November to 24 December 2026, with stalls open daily from 10:00 to 21:00. Expect carved smokers, nutcrackers, candle arches, gingerbread and Stollen in Germany's oldest documented Christmas market. Plan for a full day, as the stalls stay open until evening.
Dresden's Striezelmarkt goes back to a charter of 1434, which makes it the oldest Christmas market in Germany with a document to prove its age. Its name comes from Striezel, the old word for the buttery fruit loaf the rest of the world now calls Stollen, and that loaf is still the star of the square.
It started life as a one-day meat market held on the Monday before Christmas. Today it fills the Altmarkt for the whole of Advent with stalls of carved smokers, nutcrackers and candle arches from the Erzgebirge, Saxony's old mining hills, along with gingerbread, roast sausages and steaming mugs of wine.
The market has survived wars, a divided Germany and two pandemic winters. It missed the world wars and 2020 and 2021, and it was held under GDR rule until 1989. Its 591st edition in 2025 won the EECMA award as an excellent European Christmas market.
–/5
No reviews yet
Been to this event? Your review helps other travellers.
Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Thursday, 24 December 2026
Where: Dresden, Germany
Venue: Altmarkt
Held: Every year
Type of event: Cultural Events, Winter Festivals, Fair
Currency: Euro (EUR, €)
Time zone: Central European Time, UTC+1 (UTC+2 in summer)
Language: German
Map
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
How to recognise genuine Dresdner Christstollen
Plenty of loaves on sale in December are called Stollen. Only some may carry the name Dresdner Christstollen. Look for the golden Stollen seal together with the EU protected-origin mark: those loaves come from bakers in and around Dresden who submit them each year to an independent panel and need at least 16 of 20 points to keep the seal.
The rules also ban margarine and artificial flavours, so the seal tells you the butter is real. If you are flying home, a whole wrapped loaf packs far more easily than a bag of loose slices.
Avoiding the weekend crowds
The square is at its fullest at weekends, and the city centre's roads clog up through December. Mornings from opening time are the quiet window, especially Monday to Thursday.
- Arrange a meeting point, such as the foot of the pyramid, before splitting up.
- Keep wallets and phones zipped away in the evening crowds.
- Ask stallholders to wrap carvings well; fragile wooden figures break easily in a packed tram.
- Pushchairs are hard work after dark; a baby carrier is easier.
Buying and validating tram tickets
Dresden's trams, buses and S-Bahn run on one ticket system. A day ticket cost 9.50 euros at the last published fare, and it stays valid until 04:00 the following morning, which covers a late night on the market.
Paper tickets must be stamped in the machine when you board. Inspectors do check, and riding without a valid ticket costs a 60 euro penalty. Buy from the machines at stops, in the airport station or at the arrivals information desk.
Warm clothing for an evening outdoors
The Altmarkt is an open square and a December evening there gets cold once the sun goes down in the late afternoon. Wear a warm coat, a hat and thin gloves you can keep on while holding a hot mug. Sturdy shoes help, since you will stand for long stretches at the food stalls and in front of the stage.
Carry some cash for small purchases at the food stands, and bring a tote bag for the gingerbread and wooden figures you will almost certainly end up buying.
What happens on the day
- 9:45
Baroque prelude
A costumed programme starts on the stage in front of the Kulturpalast; the festival opens at 10:00.
- About 11:00
The parade sets off
The giant loaf, carried on a horse-drawn cart, leaves on a route through the old town with bakers, bands and the Stollen Girl.
- About noon
Back on the Altmarkt
The parade returns to the stage and the loaf is cut a few minutes later with the outsize Stollen knife.
- About 12:15
Slices on sale
Portions go on sale on the square, with the proceeds going to good causes.
- Until about 15:30
Afternoon on the square
The programme winds down by mid-afternoon and the market carries on as normal into the evening.
Where to stay and visiting at different times of day
Give the market at least two shorter visits. Come once in the morning, when the folk-art stalls are quiet enough to ask the carvers about their work, and again after dark for mulled wine under the lit pyramid. Midweek evenings are calmer than Friday or Saturday.
If you are building a longer winter break around the city, our Dresden guide is the place to start sketching the rest of the days. Leave room in the suitcase. Wooden smokers and candle arches are bulky, and few people leave with only one.
The history of Dresden Stollen and Erzgebirge folk art
The cake behind the market's name is older than you might guess. Dresden's Stollen first appears in a 1474 hospital invoice, when it was a lean fasting loaf of flour, yeast and water. In 1491 Pope Innocent VIII granted the Saxon rulers a so-called Butterbrief that let bakers use butter in Advent, and the bread grew richer from there. In 1730 Augustus the Strong had master baker Johann Andreas Zacharias and 60 apprentices bake a loaf of around 1,800 kg for his Zeithain military camp. It was about 7 m long and cut into 24,000 portions. The Stollenfest has recreated that giant since 1994.
Look for the Pflaumentoffel too. These little chimney sweeps are built from dried prunes, with a top hat and a brush, and children once sold them on the square until a ban in 1910. Stalls on the square still sell them.
The wooden crafts come from the Erzgebirge mining country. The Schwibbogen, the arched candle holder you will see in Dresden windows all through Advent, stands for the entrance to a mine, and buying one here is a tradition in itself. The market's own pyramid has stood since 1997 and rises 14 m; its wings turn when the bell sounds.
Getting there
Flying in
Dresden Airport is about 9 km north of the centre at Klotzsche. The S2 leaves from the station under the terminal about every 30 minutes, reaching Dresden-Neustadt in about 13 minutes and the Hauptbahnhof in about 23. The airport is inside the city tariff zone, so a standard ticket covers the ride and the onward tram.
By rail
ICE and IC trains from Leipzig take under 90 minutes. Long-distance trains call at the Hauptbahnhof, south of the old town, and some terminate at Neustadt across the Elbe.
From Neustadt
Take a tram over the river and get off at Altmarkt, the stop for the Kulturpalast.
Where to stay during the festival
The two districts worth considering sit on opposite banks of the Elbe. The Altstadt puts the Altmarkt a few minutes from your door, which matters when you want to drop shopping at the hotel and head back out after dark. The Neustadt suits anyone flying in, since the S-Bahn from the airport reaches it first, and a short tram ride covers the gap.
Book by late summer for a December weekend: Saturdays and Sundays in Advent are the busiest days of the run.
Weather and what to pack
Advent in Dresden is cold, grey and short on daylight, with the sun setting before 16:00 in December. Recent observations at the Dresden-Klotzsche weather station put the average December high at about 5°C and the low at about 0°C, and frost, sleet or a light dusting of snow are all possible.
The cold builds after dark, which is when the square is at its busiest.
Worth packing
- A warm coat, hat, scarf and gloves
- Waterproof boots with a good grip on wet cobbles
- Cash for smaller stalls
- A tote bag, plus padding for wooden crafts
- Coins for the mug deposit on mulled wine
Car hire in Dresden
Airport transfer to Striezelmarkt, Dresden
Met at arrivals and driven door to door to Altmarkt.
Contribute:
Recently viewed events
Others of this kind you opened on this device, so you can get back to them quickly.
Travelers are asking
No questions yet about Striezelmarkt, Dresden. Ask the community or our travel team, and the answer will show here once it is published.
Be the first to ask
Our team answers questions here
Explore Germany
Other festivals around the same time
Festivals held in the same weeks, if you want to plan more than one.
05
Dec, 2026
Dec, 2026
Cultural Events, Arts Festivals, Winter Festivals
Lyon, France
1 photo
Explore Germany
More events and festivals in Germany
Festivals and events across Germany, with dates, venues and ticket details where available.
15
Nov, 2026
Nov, 2026
Cultural Events, Winter Festivals, Fair
Germany
09
Feb, 2027
Feb, 2027
Cultural Events, Arts Festivals, Film Festivals
Berlin, Germany
13
May, 2027
May, 2027
Cultural Events, Carnivals, Parade
Berlin, Germany
1 photo
10
Jun, 2027
Jun, 2027
Musical Events, Cultural Events, Arts Festivals
Leipzig, Germany
1 photo
27
Aug, 2027
Aug, 2027
Food Festivals, Leisure Events, Exhibition
Ludwigsburg, Germany
07
Oct, 2027
Oct, 2027
Food Festivals, Folk Festival, Fair
Weimar, Germany
1 photo
Save time: create a trip and get offers from locals
Tell us where and when you want to go, and local travel experts send you offers for your trip.
1 Create a trip
2 Get offers from locals
3 Pick the one you like
Create a trip
Need help?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Families & accessibility
Yes, a historic Ferris wheel and an old-fashioned carousel turn every day from opening time. Both charge a small fare on top of free entry to the square.
Prices & payment
No. The square is open to everyone without a ticket. You pay only for the food, drink and crafts you buy at the stalls.
General
A fruit loaf. Striezel, or Strüzel in older spelling, was the medieval word for the bread now known as Stollen, and the market has carried that name for centuries.
It is the oldest one confirmed by a surviving charter, issued in 1434 by Elector Friedrich II and Duke Sigismund. No older market in the country has that kind of paper trail.
A little chimney sweep made from dried prunes, finished with a top hat and a sweep's brush. Until a ban in 1910, children sold them on the square, and stalls still stock them.
The wooden step pyramid at the heart of the square stands a little over 14 metres and has been part of the market since 1997. Its upper wings turn when the bell chimes.
Walk. Prager Straße runs north from the station into the old town, roughly 2 km in all, and it leads you towards the Altmarkt.
Timing & weather
No. The last trading day is 24 December, a short morning session. Nothing opens on the square on 25 or 26 December.
With an ecumenical church service in the neighbouring Kreuzkirche, after which the mayor declares the market open and cuts the season's first Stollen in front of the crowd.
Getting there
There is an underground car park beneath the Altmarkt, but it fills quickly on Advent weekends and traffic in the centre is slow. Trams and the S-Bahn are the better choice.