In Britain prunes are best known for warding off constipation; in Nuremberg, however, they are modelled into people and are traditionally placed in windows at Christmas to keep you safe from other forms of evil.
I am visiting the Christmas market with my mum (a veteran of these things), but she has never seen anything like the hundreds of prune people on display. Prunes are as much a part of Christmas in the German city as mulled wine and gingerbread — and the Christkind (Christ Child), which is represented by a 17-year-old girl dressed in a gold cape and white dress, with Shirley Temple-style blond curls and an elaborate crown. Elected every two years, the teenager is the symbol of Christmas in the city and represents the person who delivers your presents on Christmas Eve.
Of the Christkind’s many public appearances, the most solemn is the opening of Nuremberg’s Christmas market on the Friday before Advent from the balcony of the Church of our Lady in the market square. Thousands gather to hear her words of peace and goodwill, welcoming them to the “little city made of wood and cloth” that is the annual market, one of the oldest and biggest Christmas markets in Germany. It is three markets in one: there’s a children’s market, with carousels and the chance to write a letter to the Christkind; the international market in which the cities that are twinned with Nuremberg present their Christmas specialities, including hot toddies and shortbread from Glasgow; and the main market.
There are about 140 stalls with red and white awnings selling Christmas wares, from traditional wooden nutcrackers to elaborately painted tree decorations, woolly hats and Playmobil — the last is the only non-traditional stall allowed, presumably because it is such a big employer in the city.
The whole event is infused with the smell of barbecued sausage and mulled wine and many locals stop by after work for a snack. It would be easy to spend the weekend staggering from mulled wine stall to mulled wine stall, topping up my pretty pottery mug while my mother browses the knick-knacks, but Nuremberg is about more than wine and prunes.
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So Mum and I catch tram 9 out to the Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds. There can be nowhere less festive — the museum built within the Nazi Party’s unfinished congress centre outlines every aspect of the Nazis’ rise to power and afterwards you can walk to the rally ground, a neglected and somewhat grim place, much reduced in size since Hitler’s day.
The Nazis chose Nuremberg because of its historical links with the kings of Germany; the imperial castle remains the most imposing sight in the city. The high city walls and castle are visible from everywhere in the old town; this cluster of medieval buildings includes an impressive palace and three-tier chapel. While the distinctive, round Sinwell Tower is the most prominent feature, it’s worth queueing to take a peek down the 50m-deep well — it’s particularly impressive when candles are lowered down during a short presentation. Then head up the tower to take in the views across Nuremberg. While the castle dates back a thousand years, much of the “old” town below, with its cobbled streets, red-roofed and timber-beamed houses and imposing gothic churches was rebuilt after the war.
One house that did survive the Allied bombing of 1943-45 once belonged to the artist Albrecht Dürer; now a museum about Germany’s most famous Renaissance artist, with a sculpture of one of his most famous pieces, The Hare, in the square outside.
Not far from Dürer’s house is the town’s main craft brewing house, Hausbrauerei Altstadthof. This is the starting point for a tour into the rock cellars under the city, where the Nazis hoarded art in vaults carved for storing beer.
There’s plenty of sightseeing during the day, while we reserve our evenings for Christmas activities — after dark is when the market looks at its best, decked with fairy lights. We take a traditional horse-drawn yellow stagecoach tour from the market around the old town, strain through the railings to touch the gold ring on the “beautiful fountain” in the main square for luck, and attend one of the Christmas classical music concerts in St Sebaldus Church. The whole town, it seems, is in festive overdrive; beyond the main markets there are stalls selling sausages and mulled wine almost everywhere. It truly is a city that embodies Christmas.
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The budget hotel: Sorat Hotel Saxx
On the corner of Hauptmarkt, this modern hotel is basically in the Christmas market — you can look out of your window at the stalls and catch the stagecoach from outside reception. It has 103 contemporary rooms and a large coffee shop and bar. Double rooms cost from €113 (£99) a night during the Christmas market.
The luxury hotel: Sheraton Carlton
Nuremberg’s only five-star hotel is near the main train station, a 15-minute walk from the market. The hotel has 161 rooms and five suites. Its Restaurant Tafelhof has a gourmet buffet on Saturdays (€44.90) and family brunch on Sundays (€33.50). Double rooms cost from about €280 a night during the Christmas market.
Need to know
Carol Lewis was a guest of the German National Tourist Office (germany.travel) and flew from Stansted with Ryanair (ryanair.com). The Christmas market runs from December 1 to December 24 (christkindlesmarkt.de)
