Official beginning of the Christmas season in Munich! The Mayor of the Bavarian capital Dieter Reiter has today opened the Christkindlmarkt at the Marienplatz. He said: “The Christkindlmarkt is equally attractive for the people of Munich and for guests of the City. There hardly a place in Downtown Munich to get more int the right mood for Christmas season.”

The Christkindlmarkt is Munich’s largest and most traditional of the over 130 Christmas markets which opened these days. You can dive into German and Bavarian Christmas traditions at any of the markets, but the one at the Marienplatz has no match. Even though the market takes place at the Marienplatz for only 43 years, the tradition of the market in Munich dates back to the thirteenth century.

Some 3 million people enjoy Gluhwein, Bratwurst and Gingerbread at the market every year. In the shadow of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, security at the market has been discussed and written about a lot. There will be additional and visibly more uniformed and plain clothed police at the market and in surrounding shops and streets than in years before. The City of Munich has also included more security personnel.

The Christkindlmarkt is open from 10am until 9pm (on Sundays until 8pm). The market will be open until 2pm on Christmas Eve.