German Cities Launch Christmas Markets But Others Miss Out

Chestnuts were roasting and mulled wine mulling in several German cities on Monday as the country's popular Christmas markets opened for the 2021 season, Rachel More and Maurice Arndt reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Photo Insert: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Germany. In some of its cities, at least.

But not all places were feeling the festive cheer after soaring coronavirus infection rates in the states of Saxony and Bavaria forced some of the country's most-famous markets to stay shut.

The events that are going ahead will take place under strict hygiene measures and often with fewer attractions than usual. Depending on the region, some will deny entry to unvaccinated patrons.

In the capital Berlin, the first visitors were milling around the Christmas market at the picturesque Gendarmenmarkt square. COVID-19 certificates were being checked at the gate, with only those vaccinated or recovered from the virus allowed in.

Guests there are required to wear masks in the arts and crafts tent, an indoor area where stallholders cater to the Christmas-shopping crowds.

At other festive markets in Berlin, for example at the Red Town Hall and at the foot of the Gedaechtniskirche memorial church, vaccination is not a requirement as long as guests can provide a negative test or proof of recovery. However, this means that masks must also be worn outdoors.

As is traditional on the Monday before the First Advent, Christmas markets also launched in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Potsdam, and elsewhere. But the picture was different in the Bavarian cities of Munich and Nuremberg, normally famed for their Christmas stalls, and in the Saxon capital of Dresden, where markets were called off.

Some of them had to be dismantled at the last minute. For them, it was the second year in a row without Christmas markets, which are an important source of income for many small businesses. The coronavirus wasn't the only dampener on Christmas spirits in Germany this year.

The search for the perfect tree to stand outside the nation's parliament was difficult due to damage caused by bark beetles, storms, and heat, according to Michael Rudolph, spokesman for Lower Saxony's state forests.

"The most beautiful trees are gone," Rudolph said. On Monday, a 31-meter-tall spruce tree was felled in Altenau in the middle of the Harz Mountains to be put on display at the Reichstag. It will be erected on Tuesday.

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