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Tradition Thrives in Vienna
by Barbara Gibbs Ostmann
Vienna, like Paris, is wonderful anytime of year. At
Christmastime, Vienna is more magical than ever. The city is transformed into a
holiday wonderland of open-air markets and thousands of twinkling white lights. For more than 700 years, Vienna has celebrated Advent with
a Christkindlmarkt, literally Christ Child Market. This type of Christmas market
is also traditional in Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia. Wooden stalls
trimmed with evergreen boughs feature handicrafts, ornaments, toys and
decorations. Craftsmanship, creativity and high quality are typical of the items
offered. Food and drink are a big part of the Christmas market
experience, too. Lebkuchen, a hard gingerbread baked in molds, is a holiday
must. Almost every shopper at the market enjoys a cup of gluhwein (hot spiced
wine) or punsch (wine-spiked fruit punch). Their spicy fragrances are a market
hallmark.
The market is but one part of the Magic of Advent. In the
park, there's a walk through fairytale land, pony rides and the Christmas
Express, a miniature train. Be sure to stop by the Old Viennese Post Office in
the market area and send some cards with special holiday cancellations and
postage stamps. Inside the Rathaus at Santa's Workshop, skilled experts help
children create their own Christmas presents or bake their own cookies. Every
weekend of Advent, choirs from around the world perform the Christmas music of
their home countries in the Festival Hall of the Rathaus. In addition to the main Christmas market at City Hall,
there are dozens of markets in neighborhoods around the city. These smaller
markets have distinct personalities and are possibly even more enchanting than
the main market.
While there, take time to visit the collection of
historical Christmas items in the Silberkammer (Silver Room) in the palace.
There are guided tours of the palace especially for children, and The Magic
Flute is presented in the marionette theater on weekends.
At the art market at the Heiligenkreuzer Hof, one of the
finest baroque courtyards in the old city, exquisite Viennese arts and crafts
are the specialty. The Altwiener Christkindlmarkt on Freyung around the famous
Austria Fountain is an old-style Viennese Christmas market, and the one on the
Karlsplatz in front of the baroque Church of St. Charles Borromeo features
crafts. Austria is a deeply Catholic country, and the holiday
festivities seem to be more firmly rooted in Christian celebration than crass
commercialism.
Austria's most beloved Christmas carol is "Silent
Night," which was first performed on Christmas Eve in1818 in the village of
Oberndorf, near Salzburg. The refrain of this simple carol echoes through
Vienna's Christmas markets, reminding visitors and Viennese alike of the reason
for the season. Some cynics might say that Advent is mostly a countdown to
New Year's Eve in Vienna, when the plaza around St. Stephen's Cathedral in the
heart of the old city is transformed into a giant party -- the European version
of New York's Times Square. A New Year's Market springs up along the mile-long
New Year's Trail that winds from square to square in the old city. One hundred
or so stalls along the trail serve champagne and snacks until the wee hours. The
most popular tempo -- after all, this is Vienna -- is the waltz. If you need to
brush up on your waltzing skills, there are free waltz lessons at the Neuer
Markt. Vienna offers even more opportunities to celebrate during
the Carnival season. Some 300 balls take place in Vienna from New Year's Eve
through Shrove Tuesday, culminating in the formal Opera Ball. For more information about Christmas in Vienna, contact the
Austrian National Tourist Office at 212-944-6880 or http://www.anto.com,
or visit the Austrian Christmas market website, http://www.christkindlmarkt.at Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, who was born on Christmas Day, is a
big fan of Christmas markets everywhere. Text copyright 2000 Barbara Gibbs Ostmann. Images courtesy Wiener Adventzauber, copyright werbepool. |
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St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6, is when the holiday season begins
in earnest for Austrian children. St. Nicholas strolls through the
Christkindlmarkt, passing out sweets. He is often preceded by Krampus, a
scary-looking figure dressed in an animal-skin suit and horned mask, ringing a
cowbell. Parents warn their children that Krampus will carry them away if they
don't behave. 
The focal point of the city's Christmas festivities is the
Adventzauber (Magic of Advent) celebration in the square in front of the Rathaus
(City Hall), from Nov. 18 through Dec. 24. A traditional Christkindlmarkt, the
oldest in Vienna, is nestled amid elaborately decorated trees in the surrounding
park. The scents of freshly roasted chestnuts and hot spiced wine waft through
the air.
A favorite is the Christmas market in the Cour d'Honneur of
the magnificent Schonbrunn Palace. The setting alone is magical: gaily decorated
wooden booths tucked inside the courtyard of the butter-colored palace, with the
sound of music filling the air and the aroma of gingerbread wafting through the
crowd. The focus of this market is traditional handicrafts and tree decorations.
There's also plenty to eat and drink. One booth sells generous servings of
Kaiserschmarren, a traditional dish made of fluffy pancake torn into shreds and
served with stewed plums. Another specializes in cheese dumplings and noodles,
while others serve potato fritters, strudels, sausages and, of course, gluhwein.
The atmosphere is totally different at the Christmas market
in Spittelberg, an old quarter with restored neoclassical houses built in the
19th-century Biedermeier period. The market stalls line the winding narrow
streets of the quarter, which has a slightly bohemian feel. Handicrafts such as
jewelry, ceramics, hand-blown glass, batik work, silk paintings and woven wall
hangings are for sale. 
In keeping with the spirit of the season, creche (nativity)
displays are popular throughout Austria. In Vienna, don't miss the exhibitions
of Christmas creches, called cribs, at St. Peter's Church and the Schonbrunn
Palace.