Where are Christmas markets 2020 canceled? List of major cities

“Every year again …” takes a sad turn in 2020 – and of course the pandemic is to blame. Strolling through the Christmas market with friends and family drinking mulled wine? In many places in Germany that won’t be possible this year – or at least not as usual. In many communities, the limit values ​​are over 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days. Numerous cities have therefore completely or partially canceled their Christmas markets. Most recently, the city of Frankfurt am Main canceled its Christmas market in the city center.

Christmas markets in the Corona year: what is the legal situation?

The decision as to whether or not Christmas markets can take place lies with the respective municipalities. The respective corona protection ordinances of the federal states serve as the basis for the decisions. We summarize here what they say about Christmas markets and other major events. There is no general ban on Christmas markets in Germany.

Due to the dynamic nature of the infection, many authorities have not yet issued any final bans. In many cities and communities, advice is still being given on how Christmas markets can be set up safely during the corona pandemic. Elsewhere, Christmas markets are permitted under special distance and hygiene requirements (including entrance gates, reduced locations, alcohol bans and changed opening times) until further notice.

Where are Christmas markets canceled due to Corona, where do they take place with reservations? The current status in major German cities.

Corona and Christmas markets 2020: cancellations in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne

• 27.10.2020: Osnabrück – The “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” reports that there is no Christmas market in Osnabrück either.
• 26.10.2020: Nürnberg – The world-famous Christmas market in Nuremberg is also canceled due to Corona. The city of Nuremberg announced this on Monday because of the increasing number of corona cases. Augsburg has also canceled the Christmas markets.
• 26.10.2020: Münster – After months of debates about hygiene concepts, the city of Münster is now canceling all Christmas markets. The city administration decided on Monday in a joint meeting with the organizers.
• 26.10.2020: Lübeck – Due to rising corona numbers, the Hanseatic City of Lübeck has canceled the entire Christmas market, as the city announced on Monday.
• 25.10.2020: Erfurt – Due to the critical Corona situation, the city of Erfurt canceled this year’s Christmas market. The decision was made on Sunday after a crisis meeting, as the city announced.
• 25.10.2020: Frankfurt am Main – In a special meeting of the administrative staff on Saturday (October 24th) it was decided to finally cancel the Christmas market in Frankfurt am Main.
• 22.10.2020: Berlin – The Christmas market on the Gendarmenmarkt has been canceled. The reasons for this are health and economic risks in view of the increasing number of new infections. Last year around 900,000 people visited the traditional Christmas market on Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt.
• October 21, 2020: Munich – The Munich Christkindlmarkt takes place with reservations. A mask is required at the stands, alcohol may only be consumed after prior registration.
• 01.09.2020: Cologne – Cologne was one of the first cities to completely cancel the Christmas market at Cologne Cathedral. With around five million visitors, the market on Roncalliplatz is a crowd puller, according to the organizers.

Christmas markets 2020: There are cancellations here

In the following large cities (at least 100,000 inhabitants), Christmas markets in the respective inner cities have been officially canceled due to the corona pandemic. In some cities, stalls and Christmas market stalls should be allowed selectively instead.

(Status: October 25)

• Augsburg
• Bochum
• Bonn
• Bottrop
• Duisburg
• Düsseldorf
• Erfurt
• Freiburg in Breisgau
• Fürth
• Gelsenkirchen
• Gutersloh
• Hamm
• Heidelberg
• Heilbronn
• Herne
• Karlsruhe
• Lübeck
• Moers
• Nürnberg
• Osnabrück
• Pforzheim
• Potsdam
• Remscheid
• Reutlingen
• Wins
• Stuttgart
• Ulm

Christmas markets 2020: There has been no cancellation so far

In the following large cities (at least 100,000 inhabitants), Christmas markets in the respective inner cities have not yet been canceled. In some cases, the markets are allowed to take place in compliance with special distance and hygiene protection concepts.

(Status: October 25)

• Aachen
• Bergisch Gladbach
• Bielefeld
• Braunschweig
• Bremen
• Bremerhaven
• Chemnitz
• Darmstadt
• Dortmund
• Dresden
• Erlangen
• Essen
• Göttingen
• Hagen
• Halle (Saale)
• Hamburg
• Hannover
• Hildesheim
• Ingolstadt
• Jena
• Kaiserslautern
• Kassel
• Kiel
• Koblenz
• Krefeld
• Leipzig
• Leverkusen
• Ludwigshafen am Rhein
• Magdeburg
• Mainz
• Mannheim
• Mönchengladbach
• Mülheim a. d. Ruhr
• Neuss
• Oberhausen
• Offenbach am Main
• Oldenburg
• Paderborn
• Recklinghausen
• Regensburg
• Rostock
• Saarbrücken
• Salzgitter
• Solingen
• Trier
• Wiesbaden
• Wolfsburg
• Wuppertal
• Würzburg

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