The 2015 Vienna Christmas Markets are Open and Are Bigger Than Ever

Vienna’s most popular Christmas market, the City Hall’s “Christ Child Market,” which also includes the “the Magic of Advent," opened on Friday, November 13. It was the first of about 22 such markets to open in Vienna to provide Viennese and visitors with the chance to buy delicate Christmas decorations, elegant crafted goods, cheap Chinese-made trinkets, tons of tasty food, and different kinds of hot wine served in cups especially made for the markets. For more information on this market, go to  http://www.christkindlmarkt.at/News-Events.3.0.html?&L=1

View of the entry to the 2015
Wiener Christkindlmarkt and Advent Sauber

For many, the main attraction of the markets is punsch, the hot wine that comes in many different varieties. A quick survey showed the following types of punsch were being offered for sale at different booths: Christkindlmarkt, hinbeer, erdbeer, heidelbeer, kirsch, orange, beeren, tequila, zwergerl, kokos, Jack Daniel’s, bärentöeten, Mozart, amaretto, schoko-rum, apfel-zwetschen, vanielle-kirsch, and energy. (Other varieties are available at other Christmas markets.) For revelers who do not like punsch, glühwein is also available. At the Rathaus, the price is €4 per ¼ liter, served in a specially made mug. For each mug, a returnable deposit of €3 is required.

A punsch stand at the Wiener Christkindlmarkt

Of course, punsch tastes best in cold weather when it warms the hands and gullet, helping to fend off frostbite. Sadly for the vendors, so far November weather has been unseasonably warm. At present, the chances of getting frostbite in Vienna are slim. Such weather dampens the need for the warming effects of punsch and brings to mind objections to opening the Christmas market SIX WEEKS before the actual holiday.

A stand at the Wiener Christkindlmarkt selling Christmas tree ornaments

A Wiener Christkindlmarkt stand selling baked goods

Food at the Wiener Christkindlmarkt

Trinkets sold at a Wiener Christkindlmarkt stand: the Viennese love their dogs

Preparing the Christmas Market at the Rathaus

Of course, it is not surprising to see the Wiener Christkindlmarkt opening so early, and the packed Rathaus square on Saturday night (November 14^th) showed why. (The crowds came even though the opening ceremonies were canceled due to the terrorist attacks in Paris.) This market is popular, attracting tourists from near and far. Also important, it is a big enterprise employing many people, and the market for Christmas markets is increasingly competitive, with new and expanding Christmas markets popping up around Vienna and in other Austrian cities and in the rest of Europe. The Vienna Chamber of Commerce estimates that the Rathaus market will have 3 million visitors in 2015 with each Viennese spending 22 euros and each tourist spending 36 euros. 

Preparing lights for the Advent Sauber
at the Rathaus Park

I had never realized the scale of the work needed to create Christmas market until this year when I was in Vienna at the beginning of November. On November 1, work had already begun on the Rathaus market with an impressive number of trucks bearing tradesmen and -women parked in front of recently  installed temporary structures (booths, stands, huts, stalls?) from which goods are sold. Not only did the electrical system for this village need to be wired, but the huts had to be stocked and a massive array of lights and decorations installed.

One Sunday as I passed by the Rathaus on a Strassenbahn, I was astounded to see work being done by an army of electricians: usually unions in Austria make sure their members do not have to work on Sunday. The cost for overtime work must have been substantial.

The Setting of the Rathaus Christmas Market

For those who have not been in Vienna, you should know that its city hall, the Rathaus, is a massive gothic building constructed on Vienna’s famous Ringstrasse. The Ringstrasse is a boulevard that was created when Emperor Franz Joseph was persuaded in the 1850s to allow the wall protecting the central city to be demolished. The new street opened 150 years ago.

As part of the grand plan to replace the wall, many important public buildings were built along the Ring. The Rathaus and its park, which takes up four large blocks, is located between the University and Parliament buildings. It lies across the street from the Burgtheater. 

View of the Wiener Christkindlmarkt facing the Burg Theater

In front of the massive Rathaus building is a paved public square and a large park. The 150 or so huts/booths/stands/stalls making up the market are located in the paved part of the square. The park is the setting for the "Magic of Advent" with decorations and children’s attractions. At night, the market and the Magic of Advent are a cornucopia of lights and sounds.  

Decorated tree for the Magic of Advent
 at the Rathauspark

The History of the Christmas Markets

This year, the Magic of Advent is celebrating its 30th year of operation at the Rathaus The Wiener Christkindlmarkt has been there about ten years longer. Of course, the history of Vienna’s Christmas markets goes back to a much earlier time.

The first records of a Christmas market mentioned “huts” in front of Saint Stephen's Cathedral in 1626 that were set up on December 16 and 17, then were taken down on 9 January. At these booths, bakers, gingerbread vendors and confectioners sold their goods. This market was shut down in 1761.

The Christmas market restarted in 1764 when the Saint Nicholas and Christmas Market operated at the Freyung (1st District). It stayed there until 1842, when it moved to Am Hof, a large open area just a couple of blocks from Freyung.  According to a history of Vienna’s Christmas Market, “Every year on 5 December, 132 "crèche market stands" were put up and remained there until New Year's day.” In 1903, the stands at the market were illuminated by electricity for the first time. The Christmas market had a home at Am Hof until World War I.

The Christmas market was closed down during World War I and for some years after its end. It restarted in 1923, when it was held at Freyung, then in front of St. Stephens from 1924 to 1928. After that, it moved to Neubaugürtel before returning to Am Hof from 1938 to 1942. In 1943 the market was once again held at Stephansplatz.

Christmas Market at Am Hof, probably around 1940 from
http://www.wien.gv.at/english/fima/h-xmasmarket.htm

In 1944 and 1945, Vienna did not have a Christmas market. From 1946 through 1948, the Christmas market was open at the square in front of the Messepalast (trade fair palace) located at the end of Mariahilferstrasse. The Christmas market moved back to Neubaugürtel in 1949 where it stayed until 1957. Then from 1958 to 1974, the Christmas market had a home in front of the Messepalast (which is now the site for art museums).

Christmas Card showing an early Christmas Market at Am Hof

In 1975 the market needed a new location because the underground car park in front of the Messepalast was being built. As a temporary solution, it was held at Rathausplatz in front of the city hall.  (For a history of the Vienna Christmas Markets, go to this link: http://www.wien.gv.at/english/fima/h-xmasmarket.htm )

The entry to the Wiener Christkindmarkt

Since then the Rathaus plaza and park have been the permanent home of the Wiener Christkindlmarkt. The Magic of Advent was added in 1985. 

Sign showing the locations of Vienna "Magic of Advent" decorations and activities

My personal experience with Christmas markets started in December 1967 when I was a student in Vienna. One day when headed to the Volkstheater, I accidentally stumbled on a row of huts located at the end of Marihilferstrassse along an ally in front of the Messepalast. The huts were lit for Christmas and were selling a variety of goods as well as food and drink. The main thing I remember from that market is that I learned that beer companies were permitted during the holiday season to make and sell a Christmas brew with a higher percent of alcohol than normally allowed.

I was not again in Vienna during December until 2000, when came for a short vacation. I quickly discovered the magic of the Wiener Christkindlmarkt at the Rathausplatz with its bright lights, festive spirit, and hot wine.  By that time, a few other Christmas markets had begun operation, including a smaller, more intimate and manageable market at Freyung . It was (and still is) called the Old Vienna Christ Child Market (Altwiener Christkindlmarkt). Its lighting is more subdued and the crowds less intrusive than the bigger markets.

Since 2000, I have been in Vienna eight times during December to visit the Christmas markets and take advantage of other events the city has to offer. Each time I have returned, I have found new Christmas markets or expansions of the older markets. 

Vienna had only the original market at the Rathaus until 1986 when the Old Vienna Christ Child Market at Freyung opened. No only long after that, new Christmas markets were held at Schönbrunn and Karlplatz.

Schönbrunn Christmas Market, 2013

More recent are the markets at the Old General Hospital (now called Unicampus at Alserstrasse), Belvedere Castle, Spittelberg, and Maria Theresia Platz. In the past few years, markets have been added along St. Stephens Church and near the giant Ferris wheel in the Prater. The newest Christmas market is the k.u.k. Weihnachtsmarkt am Michaelerplatz. I do not remember it being around in 2013, the last time I was in Vienna in December.

Christmas Market at Michaelerplatz
at the entry to the Burg

The Christmas markets have different names and characteristics. Two are called Christ Child Markets and others are named Christmas Villages, Christmas Markets, and Winter Markets. Different markets feature different products for sale. For example, the markets at Freyung, Am Hof, Schönbrunn, Michaelerplatz, and Karlplatz have a higher percentage of booths selling arts and crafts rather than manufactured goods. Also, each market has its own program of concerts, entertainment, activities for children, and events. To find out more about the different markets and their attractions, click on the links below:

Christ Child Markets

Wiener Christkindlmarkt and the Magic of Advent) at
Rathausplatz http://www.christkindlmarkt.at/

Altwiener Christkindlmarkt (at Freyung)
http://www.altwiener-markt.at/start.html

Christmas Villages

Weihnachtsdörfer http://www.weihnachtsdorf.at/en/ , located at

Maria-Theresien Platz

Unicampus/Altes AKH 

(The ground of the old General Hospital) 

Belvedere Castle

Christmas Markets

Weihnachtsmarkt am Hof  

http://www.weihnachtsmarkt-hof.at/

Weihnachtsmarkt am Spittelberg  http://www.spittelberg.at/index.php?en_wm_weihnachtsmarkt

Weinachtsmarkt am Stephensplatz 

http://www.weihnachtsmarkt-stephansplatz.at/

Kultur- und Weinachtsmarkt Schloss Schönbrunn  http://weihnachtsmarkt.co.at/en/the-market.php

k.u.k. Weihnachtsmarkt am Michaelerplatz

http://www.kuk-weihnachtsmarkt.at/

Christmas Market alongside St. Stephens Church

Other Markets

Winter Market: Wintermarkt am Riesenradplatz (Nov 21)  http://www.wintermarkt.at/wintermarkt/  nov 21

Art and Crafts Advent: Kunst & Handwerk (Art Advent) am Karlsplatz (Nov 20) http://www.artadvent.at/en/

For a list of my top ten favorite Christmas markets (based on visits in 2013), see this blog entry: 
http://www.eclecticatbest.com/2013/12/my-ten-favorite-vienna-christmas-markets.html

By the way, these larger Christmas markets are not the only places to get a fix of hot wine, fresh food, crafts, and trinkets. Other smaller markets are scattered around the city including on Mariahilferstrasse (by the Mariahilferstrasse Church), at Floridsdorf train station, and by the Staatsoper on Mahlerstrasse.  You can even find a small market on the roof of the fancy Ritz-Carlton Hotel, located on the Stuben Ring. (See http://kurier.at/weihnachten/adventmaerkte/der-hoechste-christkindlmarkt-der-stadt/163.826.251   )

Advertisement for a Advent Market
on December 6 in the 18th District

Also, on weekends you in late November and in December, Christmas markets are held at locations in many different neighborhoods, often to raise funds for charities and non-profit organizations. If you are in Vienna, keep an eye out for announcements of these local markets.  

Christmas Season is Here

The arrival of the Christmas markets in Vienna provides a good opportunity for locals and visitors to enjoy some of their favorite places in the city in the glow of mostly tasteful and colorful decorations. They provide a good excuse to be outside in colder weather, joining others in a festive atmosphere. For those who care about the traditional elements of Christmas, decorated Christmas trees can be found, as can nativity scenes and other representations of the religious side of the holiday. For those who do not care so much about those things, lots of different types of punsch can be sampled before Christmas Day.

My Ten Favorite Vienna Christmas Markets

In December 1967, when I was a student in Vienna, I stumbled one cold December day on the city’s Christkindlmarkt (literally, Christ Child Market) located in an alley at the end of Mariahilferstrasse in the back of a large complex known as the Messepalast. The market was a modest grouping of wooden stands selling crafts, toys, food, beer, trinkets, and hot wine. Its location was a good one, near a major shopping street and across a busy road from the Art History and Natural History museums.

Since that time, the original Vienna Christmas Market has been joined by nearly a dozen more, and together they have become a major tourist attraction. These markets are part of long tradition that dates back to 1764, when the Saint Nicholas and Christmas Market operated at the Freyung (1^st District). After decades there, the market moved to different locations. From 1842 until after World War I, it was located at the Am Hof, a large open area just a couple of blocks from Freyung.  In the following years, its home was at different times at the Neubaugürtel and in front of the iconic St. Stephens church in the heart of the inner city. (For a history of the Vienna Christmas Markets, go to this link: http://www.wien.gv.at/english/fima/h-xmasmarket.htm )

Early Christmas Market at Am Hof
Source:  http://www.wien.gv.at/english/fima/h-xmasmarket.htm

From 1958 until 1975, the market set up behind the Messepalast, which was reconfigured in the middle 70s as the Museumquartier. That was where I visited this market in 1967 and later in 1971, when I was again studying in Vienna. That site because unusable in 1975 when construction began on underground parking at its location. That year, the city’s Christkindlmarkt moved to the large plaza in front of Vienna’s monumental Rathaus (city hall), located on the Ringstrasse between the Austrian Parliament building and the main building of University of University.

 

1950 Christ Child Market at Neubauguertel
Source: http://www.wien.gv.at/english/fima/h-xmasmarket.htm

I am not sure when other Christmas Markets, also called Advent Markets and Christmas Villages, opened in Vienna. However, 2013 was advertised as the 27^th anniversary of the Christmas Market at Freyung and the twentieth anniversary of the Christmas markets in front of Karlskirche (Charles Church) and the awe-inspiring Schönbrunn Palace, the summer residence of the Hapsburg monarchs. Likely, the Freyung market was the first established to supplement the main Christkindlmarkt at the Rathaus. If so, the number of markets in Vienna began increasing around 1986, with two more added in 1993. 

The number of Christmas Markets has increased since then, as has the number of people visiting them. In 2013, a new Christmas Market was opened alongside St. Stephens Church (which had been the site of the Market from 1924 to 1928 and again in 1943). This location near the intersection of Kärtnerstrasse and the Graben is one of the busiest in the city.

After visiting the 1971 Vienna Christmas Market, I did not return to the city in December until 2000; after that I was in Vienna in December, at least briefly, for seven years in a row. Also, I was also there briefly in December 2011. Each of these years, I visited the Christmas markets to enjoy the festive lighting and jovial spirit in some spectacular settings. There is something innately enjoyable in standing outside in the cold, sipping glühwein or hot punsch, hearing happy voices and glancing around at impressive, historic buildings and at dozens of small colorful booths selling all kinds of food and crafts. 

Returning this year for a couple of weeks, I visited all of the full-time Christmas markets, except one. Also, I missed the “medieval Christmas market” held one November weekend at the Arsenal building where the city’s War History Museum is located. Beyond that, I did not make it to some of the neighborhood markets that were held various weekends.

Based on my several years of experience with Vienna’s Christmas markets, I have ranked them according to my preference for them. My favorites are listed first. Also, I provide a little information about each of them and give links to web sites that have more information about each market.  A map showing the locations of the Christmas markets can be downloaded from this site: http://web.student.tuwien.ac.at/~e1025108/?page_id=293 

(I am writing this post shortly before Christmas 2013; most likely it will be read after the markets have closed for the year. Nevertheless, please keep in mind that it is highly likely that all of my ten favorite markets will be back with few change for the 2014 Christmas season. Thus, this list should also apply to the coming year.) 

The following are my ten favorite Christmas Markets in Vienna:

1.   Altwiener Christkindlmarkt (Old Vienna Christ Child Market)

This small market is located in a public square a couple of blocks from Schottentor, which is a main transportation hub. This market is a small one, limited by the size of the square. Its size and stability (the same people seem to return with their booths every year) make it more intimate that other markets. In many ways, it reminds me of the Vienna Christkindlmarkt in 1967 and 1971, when it was more modest in size and setting.

 

Natalia G. at the entrance to the
Old Vienna Christ Child Market, 2013 

In recent years, another small Christmas market has been operating across the narrow Freyung street. Its booths are set up on the large sidewalk in front of a huge building lying between Freyung and Herrengasse. This market is the Biobauern market, which sells organic and ecologically friendly foods and good.

Ranking this market as my favorite, I should disclose that I am predisposed to like the Old Vienna market because in Spring 1968 I attended Institute of European Studies classes in the Kinsky Palace, which lies a few steps from this market. Thus, I had occasion to be in this vicinity almost daily for about four months and it retains good memories.

In 2013, the market was open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is located in the 1^st district on Freyung. Website:  www.altwiener-markt.at

2.   Wiener Christkindlmarkt (at the Rathaus)

This Christmas market is the opposite of the Old Vienna Christmas Market in scale and grandeur. Its setting is spectacular and the lights and decorations are the best among the markets. Not only are the soaring spires of the city hall nicely lit, but also the parks on either side of the square have colorful and attractive Christmas decorations.

 

Entrance to the Christmas Market at the Vienna City Hall, 2013

This year, this market had 150 stands selling different drinks, food, crafts, and doodads. Every time I was there, the market was stuffed full of people. The density was especially great at night and on weekends.

This Market, the original one, is a “can’t miss” attraction; however unless a person likes large crowds, he or she likely will come to take a few pictures, grab a Christmas punch (the mugs are usually nice collectibles), and then find another market that is less hectic to enjoy at leisure.

The market was open in 2013 from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., except on Friday and Saturday when it stayed open until 10 p.m. It is located on Ringstrasse between the Parliament Building and the main building of Vienna University.

Website: www.christkindlmarkt.at

3.   Weihnachtsmarkt at Schloss Schönbrunn

I especially liked visiting this Christmas Market during the day, though I also had to come in the evening to take pictures. The palace is a huge renaissance building suitable in scale and grandeur for the ruler of a huge empire. In fact, it was built as the summer home for the Hapsburg emperor.

The expansive Hapsburg-yellow façade of the palace provides a great backdrop for what seems to be a small village of modest wooden stands offering hot wine, sweets, and crafts. The food selection at this Christmas Market seems a bit better than many of the other markets, and the most of the crafts were of high quality. Although lots of people came to this market, it did not feel nearly as crowded as the Rathaus market.

 

People walking to the Christmas Market at Schönbrunn Palace, 2013

If you come during the day, you can stroll around the extensive grounds of the palace and even walk up to the Schönbrunn Gloriette to get a nice view of the city.

 

A Punsch and Krapfen Stand at Schönbrunn, 2013

In 2013, this Christmas market was open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. It is one of two Christmas markets that remained open on December 25 and 26^th (from 10 am to 7 pm). Also, beginning on December 27, the site hosted a New Year’s Market (10 am to 7 pm) that lasted until January 1^st.

Schönbrunn can easily be reached by the Vienna subway. Take U-6 in the direction of Hütteldorf to the Schönbrunn station. The entrance to the grounds is a short walk from there.  Web site: www.weihnachtsmarkt.co.at

4.   Weihnachtsmarkt am Spittelberg

The Spittelberg Christmas Market is not too far from where the Christkindlmarkt was located in 1967 and 1971. It can be found a couple of blocks behind the Museumquartier between Siebensterngasse and Burggasse.  The market can be reached by walking up Burggasse from the Volkstheater or by taking Strassenbahn 49, one stop from the Volkstheater.  

 

A Demonstration of Blacksmithing
at the Spittelberg Market, 2013

This 7^th district market is another change of pace from the monumental markets at the Rathaus and Schönbrunn.  Most of its stands are located along two narrow streets (Spittelgasse and Schrankgasse, with some spillover on Spitalgasse). The Spittelberg area contains many traditional and funky craft shops and several small restaurants. So, many of the stands have handmade goods, and several restaurants are available near the market stands.

For me, this market captures some of the late 1960s and early 1970s feel. It is a comfortable place to drink some punsch and peruse crafts in a friendly setting.

In 2013, this market did not open until 2 p.m. on Monday to Friday. However, it opened at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It closed at 9 p.m. every day except Friday and Saturday, when it remained open until 9:30 p.m.  Website: www.spittelberg.at

5.   Weihnachtmarkt, Am Hof.

This market had the misfortune in 2013 (as well as in 2012 and 2011) to be located amid much construction that obscured its setting which includes the Am Hof Church, a large statute of Mary, and the old Vienna Firehouse. Nevertheless, it distinguished itself by having vendors selling things seldom found at other locations, including an excellent stand selling meats from throughout Austria and several selling antiques.

 

Entrance to the Am Hof Christmas Market, 2013

This market had stands selling several different types of food, so it is a good place to each lunch or a snack.

I have to admit that I ranked this Christmas Market higher than the others that follow not only because of its impressive offerings, but also because it is part of my old neighborhood. In the 1966-67 academic year, I lived a block away on Parisergasse, and I have strong nostalgic feelings about Am Hof that likely biased me toward a higher ranking.

Am Hof is located two blocks toward the inner city from the Old Vienna  Christmas Market at Freyung.  If you visit one of them, it is easy to visit the other.

This market opened at 11 a.m. on Monday through Thursday and at 10 a.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It closed at 8 p.m. every day. Web:  www.kunsthandwerksmarkt.at

 

Franz Josef Wurst for sell at the Am Hof Market

6.   Weihnachtsdorf im Alten AKH (the old General Hospital of Vienna)

This 9^th district market is located in the huge inner courtyard of what used to be Vienna’s main hospital; the buildings are now used by the University of Vienna for various institutes and administrative offices. Because the court yard is expansive, this market has substantial space to host its stands: they are located along meandering paths amid trees and shrubs in a nicely landscaped setting. 

The large area allows the market to set up tables where visitors have ample room to stand and sip hot wine without bumping up against someone else. In all, it is a nice place for a leisurely visit. The market has a large number of stands with the usual drinks, food, crafts, and crap. It also has some children’s rides. 

 

Spacious Place to Sip Hot Punsch, the Old General Hospital Market

At night, the market is reasonable well lit, but lacks the brightly colorful setting of some of the better markets and the funky feel of others.  Nevertheless, it is worth a visit.

This market opened at 2 p.m. on Monday to Friday and at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It closed at 10 p.m. The market is located on Alserstrasse, a couple of blocks up from the main University building and Schottentor. You can enter the courtyard from a park (Ostarrichipark) or at the corner of Alserstrasse and Spitalgasse.  Website:  www.weihnachtsdorf.at

7.   Adventmarkt vor der Karlskirche

This market is another one with a notable setting: a huge church that has two soaring minaret-like columns in front of it. In 2013, Charles Church had a big antiabortion banner attached to its front, forming part of the setting for the market.

Punsch Stand with Charles Church
in the Background, 2013

The location of this Christmas Market is next to a large children’s playground. Also, it turns a huge fountain in front of the Church into a barnyard that covered with straw and housing some animals – such as goats -- for viewing by children. Near the barn yard are some low-tech kid’s rides and a place to ride ponies. All of this makes the Karlsplatz Christmas Market the best one for children to visit, and many are there in the afternoons.

The market also offers adults a good selection of booths, several with quality crafts. It also has many places to buy punsch and various specialty foods. Crowded at night, I did not find the layout or the lighting of the market to be attractive.  It seemed dimly lit and the atmosphere was not particularly enticing. The market was good for a short visit, but I did not want to hang around too long.

This market was open from noon to 8 p.m., though booths serving food stayed open until 9.00 p.m.  This market is a few blocks from the Staatoper  and across a major avenue from the Musikverein. Website:  www.divinaart.at

 

Kids on a Hand Pumped Railroad Car, Karlsplatz, 2013

8.   Weihnachtsdorf, Maria Theresa Place

This market is located around a large statue of Maria Theresa that stands between two large museums, the Museum of Art History and the Museum of Natural History. On her perch, Maria Theresa faces Heldenplatz and the Hofburg, the complex that housed the Hapsburg monarchy.

 

Maria Theresa watches over the market in her square, 2013

This market is one of the newer ones. It is also one of the smaller ones, but also seemed to be a favorite of visitors who arrived in the dozens of tour buses that parked on the streets around the museums. With so many busloads of tourists, the market often seemed tightly packed during the day, especially on weekends.

The setting is pleasant, though the lighting is somewhat dim. The market has the usual array of stands selling the usual stuff. Nothing really distinguished it from the other markets, except this year, a huge banner hanging from the entrance of the Art History Museum was a bit jarring. It advertised an exhibition of paintings by Lucian Freud at the museum, showing one of his paintings. In this one, a not particularly attractive couple is lying naked in bed together. The painting is graphic and puzzling – if you look closely enough, and provided one of the stranger backgrounds for the Christmas markets.  

Right of the Maria Therese Statue, at the
Entrance to the Art History Museum

When I saw the blown-up painting, it occurred to me that it is fortunate that Maria Theresa -- a bit of a prude in her time -- looks forward toward the Ringstrasse rather than at the museum. She likely would be shocked by what she saw to her right.

The Christmas Market was open daily from 11.00 a.m. - 10.00 p.m. It is one of two that opened on December 25 and 26 (from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.). Website: www.weihnachtsdorf.at

9.   Weinachtsdorf, Schloss Belvedere

This Christmas Market is located in front of another Hapsburg palace, though it is not nearly as impressive as Schönbrunn. The location faces a large reflecting pool. In the old days, the South Train station lay across the street from the pool. In the past decade, the South Train station has been demolished and new high rises are being built where it stood.

The back side of Belvedere is more impressive than the front, where the Market is located. The back faces a long garden that gently slopes down a hill. It offers a great view of the spires of St. Stephens and of Leopoldsberg and Kahlenberg, the mountains on the northern edge of Vienna.

 

Christmas Market at Belvedere, 2013

This market is a bit smallish, and I am not sure it has much to distinguish it from the others. It does have a couple of rides for children.

The best way to get to Belvedere is on the D Strassenbahn, which runs along much of the Ring. The D line has a stop on Prinz Eugen-Strasse that is a few steps from the entrance to the Belvedere complex. This market was open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, but remained opened until 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Website: www.weihnachtsdorf.at

10.   Weihnachtsmarkt am Stephensplatz

This Christmas Market opened for the first time this year. Its location insured that lots of people would visit it: It was situated next to St Stephens, a major Vienna landmark and attraction, near the intersection of Kärtnerstrasse and the Graben. These two pedestrian-only streets are always crowded, and on weekends are clogged with tourists.

 

Christmas Market Booth at the
side of St. Stephens Church, 2013

The market seems to be a pleasant, albeit small, one. The ancient church, visible from throughout the city, provides an impressive background. Nevertheless, the crowds were so dense that I did not want to spend much time there.

This market was open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Website: www.weihnachtsmarkt-stephansplatz.at

That’s my list. I know that others would place these Christmas Markets in a different order and have good reason to do so. I encourage readers to visit Vienna in late November or December 2014 to determine which the markets appeal most to you

If you do visit, keep these things in mind:

All of these markets that I have ranked are open every day for about five weeks. In 2013, the markets opened on November 16 and most closed on December 24^th. As shown, two of them were open on December 25 and 26.

In late November and early December, it gets dark in Vienna by 4:30 p.m., so it is possible to see the lighted Christmas Markets in the late afternoon as well in the evening. Since most close at 8 p.m. or later, it is easy to visit several in one evening, if so desired.

The Markets have food that is great for snacks, but it is sometimes hard to find food that is sufficient for a meal. A few markets have food specialties from different Austrian provinces; they are worth sampling. Several booths cater nicely to people with a sweet tooth who want a snack.

The hot wine drinks come in many different varieties. I like glühwein, which is a traditional hot mulled wine. For people who want to try different things, the punsch comes in dozens of tastes, flavored with different kinds of fruit and seasonings (stands selling punsch seem to have some contest going to see which one can concoct the most esoteric punch flavor). My favorite, which I had at the 2013 Market at the Rathaus, is the Christmas punch, which had no particular fruit flavor but was similar to Glühwein. I don’t think you can go wrong with any punsch if you choose a flavor (e.g., orange, apple, pear) you like.

 

To your health: Natalia G. enjoys a Christmas Punsch

In 2013, a glühwein or punsch cost between 2.80 and 4 euros. The average was 3.50 euro. The prices vary by location with the highest prices at the most popular locations, such as the Rathaus. The drink is served in a mug that looks like a coffee cup. It holds one-fourth of a liter (a “viertal”). You have to pay a deposit for the cup (2 or 2.5 euro in 2013) or give up an empty one for a filled one. When finished for the evening, you can return the empty cup to get your deposit returned, or, of course, you can keep the cup if you want. Each market has a cup designed especially for it. Most are pretty nifty, and I have a small collection of them.

Vienna’s Christmas Markets provide some memorable experiences. I hope you can visit one in 2014.

Dorothy Thompson and Sinclair Lewis Celebrate Christmas in Semmering (Austria), 1932

Dorothy Thompson and Sinclair Lewis from
Cover of Dorothy and Red by Vincent Sheean

In 1932, journalist Dorothy Thompson and writer Sinclair "Red" Lewis celebrated Christmas by inviting 40 or so guests to join them for ten days on Semmering, a winter-sport resort in Lower Austria, less than 50 miles from Vienna. According to Vincent Sheean, a friend of the couple, their plan was to have "a really fabulous holiday party...full of English and Americans and snow and sleds and skis and music and dancing and beer and wine and conversation." (Sheean, Dorothy and Red, p. 212)

The extended party, Thompson biographer Peter Kurth, (American Cassandra, p. 176) wrote, was "one of the great parties of the 1930s, a fabulous, week-long bash that went on through New Years." One of the guests, M. W. Fodor, a foreign correspondent based in Vienna, described the party as "a week of unadulterated pleasure enlivened by witty companions and his lovely [wife] Marta's gypsy songs performed nightly to her own guitar accompaniment." (quoted in Sanders, Dorothy Thompson: A Legend in Her Time, p. 179).

 

Others had less positive memories of the party. Lilian Mowrer, a journalist who attended the party with her husband , said it "was accursed at the very outset, by the weather." According to her, because of a lack of snow and inclement weather, guests preferred to stay indoors "where there was approximately nothing to do and both the conversation and the nerves wore thin." Also, drinking was excessive. (Sheean, p. 213)

Though people who attended the party had different recollections about it, this extended celebration was certainly memorable. From accounts of the party written by the biographers of Thompson (Sanders 1973, Kurth 1990, and Hertog 2011), Lewis (Grebstein 1962 and Shorer 1961), and the couple (Sheehan 1963), we can piece together a good, though sometimes contradictory, picture of the event.  

The Christmas Party Guests

This list of people attending the party is incomplete. According to Hertog (p 198), a Thompson biographer, "On most days, there would be as many as thirty or more people in residence in the hotel or their villa. In addition, there were others who were day guests."  

From Inside: The Biography of John Gunther,
by Ken Cuthbertson, 1992

Among those at the party were three family members, including their son Michael (2 1/2 years old) and Dorothy's sister (Margaret Wilson) and young niece (Pamela Wilson).  Also, three of Dorothy's former journalist colleagues with their with their wives:  M.W. and Martha Fodor (in 1932, he was the Vienna correspondent for the Manchester Guardian); John and Frances Gunther (he was the Vienna correspondent for the Chicago Daily News and Frances wrote for an English newspaper); and Edgar Ansel and Lilian Mower (he was the Chicago Daily News correspondent in Germany; she was also a writer, publishing often in American magazines). Each of these three couples had brought their only child with them to the Semmering Christmas celebration (Denis Fodor, Johnny Gunther, and Diane Jane Mowrer).

John and Frances Gunther, From Cuthbertson,
Inside the Biography of John Gunther

At the Semmering Christmas Party, From Right: Edgar Mowrer, Baron Hatvany,
Baronness Christa Hatvany (Winsloe), and Sinclair Lewis. From Vincent
Sheean, Dorothy and Red. 

The largest group of guests was comprised of writers and others working in the arts. Among them were Adolphe Manjour (an American actors whose career began in the 1920's and lasted until the 1950's); Robert Nichols and his wife Norah Nichols (he was a English poet well know for his war poems); Baron Lajos von Hatvany and Baroness Christa Hatvany Winsloe (he was a liberal Jewish Hungarian landowner, a writer, and a literary scholar; she was a sculpturess and writer); Virginia Peterson and Prince Paul Sapieha of Poland (they got engaged at the end of party and married in 1933; she was an American writer and critic); Alexander Frere Reeves and Patricia Wallace (they were married soon after the party; he was a publisher and she was the daughter of writer Edgar Wallace); Russell and Marcia Davenport (he was on the editorial staff of Fortune Magazine; she had worked on the staff of the New Yorker, and was launching a successful career as a novelist); Phillip and Lily Goodman (he was a successful Broadway producer); and Nicholas Roosevelt (he was the American minister in Hungary in 1932; he left that post in 1933 and had a long career as a journalist and writer). 

The Party Accommodations

Hotel Panhans, the Vlla Sauerbrunn was located closeby

A few guests stayed in Villa Sauerbrunn. Thompson and Lewis had leased this luxurious house for several months, starting September 1, 1933. She described it in a letter to journalist and friend H. R. Knickerbocker as being "as thick with comfort as a coffee cake is with sugar." (quoted in Kurth 176). Lewis also liked it initially, though later it had no appeal for him. He described it, soon after his arrival, as "a cuckoo-clock house in aspect with Ritz comfort in beds and bathroom and kitchens and chairs and lights." The villa was set in a large garden. It looked down a deep valley and then to a pastoral upland and the slopes of the Rax and Schneeberg mountains. (Schorer, 576)

For other guests, the hosts rented the entire annex (dépendance) of a neighboring hotel. According to Denis Fodor, who was at the party as a child, this hotel was the Grand Hotel Panhans, a modern, luxury hotel. The original Hotel Panhans opened in 1888; in 1913, a new 400-room Grand Hotel Panhans first welcome guests. After some bad times following World War I, the hotel was refurbished and revitalized beginning in 1930. One of its additions was a large indoor swimming pool with retractable glass walls. (For a history of the hotel, see http://www.panhans.at/hotel-semmering/Article/ID/10/Session/1-7AgWktES-0-IP/Geschichte.htm)

The Ten Days of Christmas Party

The plan was for a party with skiing and tobogganing; tea-dances at the hotel; and most meals together (Kurth 177). Dorothy saw the party as "a kind of winter festival in which everybody would be out of doors all day long, all healthy and sportive and not needing lunch. She had planned breakfast and dinner only, with plenty of time for the servants to clean out both the villa and the dépendance. 

Unfortunately, the plans were frustrated by the weather. There was little or no snow on Semmering during the Christmas holiday. Sheean (p. 213) wrote that the weather "thwarted Dorothy's plans for extensive outdoor activities." Because of the conditions, including a lack of snow and very cold weather, guests preferred to stay indoors. They had little to do there and [according to Lilian Mowrer] grew tired of each other. 

Tobogganing on Semmering. At left foreground is Lewis, Fodor is partially visible
to the right of him, next to him is Virgilia Peterson, then Christa Winsloe (with slouch hat);
Dorothy Thompson is second on the sled. Behind her is Lilian Mowrer. The man in the beret,
near the front of the sled is Edgar Mowrer. The picture is from American Cassandra
by Kurth; a similar picture is in Sheean's Dorothy and Red.

With rain, fog, and unpleasant cold, wrote Kurth (p. 177), the outdoor celebration planned by Dorothy, was not possible and there was not much to do "except eat, sleep, and drink." At the hotel annex, every night the guests "repaired to dance and talk and booze until dawn." According to Sanders (p. 179), "By mid afternoon under gray skies, there was nothing to do but huddle indoors and begin serious drinking."

According to Hertog (p. 198), because of rain, the party participants were stuck indoors for the ten days of the party. He wrote, "What was to be a winter festival with skiing, sleight riding, and fresh, crisp mountain air became of Dionysian brawl."

In his account of the party Sheean (p 213) wrote that with guests spending most of their time indoors, "The drinking that went on was excessive." Hertog (p. 198) described the situation like this: The children went wild and the adults grew bored, drunk, and argumentative. According to Kurth (p. 177), "The children started to hit each other with shovels and snowshoes."

Sinclair Lewis with a friend in front of Villa Sauerbrunn in Simmering;
from Vincent Sheean, Dorothy and Red. 

Some of the guests found the atmosphere at the entended Christmas party to be tense. The main source of the tension was that Sinclair Lewis was not drinking alcoholic beverages. Kurth (p. 177) described the situation thusly: The atmosphere was tense because, despite Lewis' history of drinking, he was "the only one at the Semmering party who abstained from alcohol. He went to bed at eleven o'clock each night and left his guests to get drunk by themselves....It actually made for tension in the house, because everybody present, knowing his record, had to wonder just when he would fall off the wagon. They were expecting Red to take a drink at any moment...."

None of the accounts of party suggests that Lewis was not a good host. In fact, Sanders (p. 179) maintained that he was "at his best playing host." However, it was not easy. According to Sheean (p. 213), "Red was for the greater part of the time in a mood of desperate depression." Hertog (p. 198) explained, that while Dorothy talked politics in German with her friends, Hal [as Sinclair was called by some friends], sick of what he called "the situation," and not knowing a word of German, withdrew into a deep depression." Part of the problem, Peggy -- Dorothy's sister -- explained to Sheean, was that "Red couldn't stand Dorothy's friends." (Sheean 213).

Fortunately, Lewis made it to the last hours of the party before getting into a tiff  with Dorothy. When the Dorothy and the remaining group of guests took off to visit  Budapest, Lewis left with Dorothy's sister to visit Italy. (Shorer p. 579)

The Party Aftermath

The 1932 Semmering Christmas, while memorable, exposed the growing rift between Thompson and Lewis. It likely added to the growing grievances felt by each. They saw each other less and less in the years that followed and officially separated in 1937, followed by a divorce in January 1942.

Christina Winsloe

Of course, it should also be mentioned that the most remarkable occurrence of the Christmas party was that Dorothy fell in love with Christa Winsloe, though the proclaimed that she did not love Lewis any less because of it.

Thompson wrote in her diary (which became available to researchers a few years after her death) on December 28, 1932: "So it has happened to me again, after all these years....There is something weak in it and, even, ridiculous. To love a woman is somehow ridiculous. Mir auch passt es nicht. Ich bin doch heterosexuel. [Anyway it doesn't suit me. I am heterosexual]...Well, then, how to account for this which has happened again....? (Kurth 178)

Thompson spent a few months in 1933 traveling in Europe with her new love, and the two spent much time together in the United States during the following couple of years. By 1935, they had drifted apart. In the meanwhile, Thompson's fame as a columnist and political commentator had continued to grow. 

(The story of the Semmering Christmas, with more information on the guests, can be found in this document:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/118431511/Dorothy-Thompson-and-Sinclair-Lewis

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Sources:

Grebstein, Sheldon. 1962. Sinclair Lewis. Twayne Publishers

Hertog, Susan. 2011. Dangerous Ambition: Rebecca West and Dorothy Thompson: New Women in Search of Love and Power. Ballantine (pp. 197-198)

Kurth, Peter. 1990. American Cassandra: The Life of Dorothy Thompson. Little, Brown, and Co. (pp. 176-178)

Sanders, Marion. 1973. Dorothy Thompson: A Legend in Her Time. Houghton Mifflin Co (pp. 178-181)

Sheean, Vincent. 1963. Dorothy and Red. Houghton Mifflin Co (pp. 212 - 213)

Shorer, Mark. 1961. Sinclair Lewis: An American Life. McGraw-Hill. (pp. 576-579)