Nuremberg had planned to celebrate the 400th anniversary of its famous Christmas Market in three years. New research by the city archive and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum reveals that the market is only 347 years old. An examination of a historical span box has overturned the previous dating.
The Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt, one of Germany's oldest and largest Christmas markets, attracts thousands of visitors from around the world each year. It was previously considered 397 years old, originating in 1628. This assumption rested on a dedication on a span box from the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, the oldest known evidence of the market.
As the city announced, the city archive and the museum have now conducted more precise research. The third digit of the year on the box is barely legible and could be a 7 instead of a 2, suggesting 1678. The recipient of the dedication lived from 1663 to 1731. The donor, a friend, had parents who married in 1651; her father was a member of an important city committee, which precluded illegitimate children. Thus, she could not have been born in 1628.
Nuremberg's mayor Marcus König (CSU) sees no issue with the adjusted age for the planned 2028 anniversary: The Christkindlesmarkt is 'a flagship of our city and part of our identity,' whether 400 or 350 years old. He quotes the Christkind's opening phrase: 'My market remains forever young!'
The market opens this year on November 28 and runs until December 24.