Dresden and Erzgebirge, Germany
A special place is designated in Christmas celebrations across the entire nation for the German state of Saxony, which capital city is Dresden. The most well-known fruit-filled Christmas bread, Dresden Christstollen, is firstly made in Dresden. And the famous wooden ornaments that can be found in every Christmas market and shop in Germany originated in the adjacent Erzgebirge. All of these goods, including scowling nutcrackers, candle arches for window displays, candle-powered Christmas pyramid carousels filled with tiny painted figures, and the countless tiny rosy-cheeked angels and Santas that adorn Christmas trees worldwide, originated in the Ore Mountains and are still made there.
The markets in Dresden and the small towns spread around the mountains to its south are very popular with tourists in December. Start in Dresden at the Striezelmarkt, where the stollen is known locally as Striezel. Rewind time to the 1800s in Neumarkt, where minstrels saunter and artisans in period dress sell traditional handmade items. Or you can take a look at the Seiffen, a town in the Erzgebirge known for its wooden toys and filled with holiday stores and market stalls, is worth a visit to view the six-meter-tall wooden pyramid filled with painted Christmas figures.
