Overview
- Many German markets are operating for the 2025 season, but observance rules keep some closed on Totensonntag, with Duisburg confirming a full-day shutdown before reopening on Monday.
- Berlin begins its main openings on Monday, including the return of the WeihnachtsZauber at Gendarmenmarkt with a €2 entry and expanded schedules across Alexanderplatz, Charlottenburg and other sites.
- Operational pressures trigger last‑minute changes: Hamburg‑Rahlstedt’s Winterterrassen is scrapped for good over weak vendor revenues, Dasing cancels due to construction, and Pöttmes folds its Nikolausmarkt into an Advent singing event to boost turnout.
- One of Europe’s largest seasonal attractions has opened in Craiova, Romania, spanning roughly 280,000 square meters with a Nutcracker theme, about 90 stalls and city‑wide installations.
- A viral depiction of a Buckingham Palace market proved fake, with tourists misled by images traced to the Instagram account London.travelers run by Athotel, highlighting the need for basic image checks such as reverse searches.