Mulled wine, fries, Christmas music and carousels - after the first Advent, the Christmas markets start in many places. Also in Rostock. The final construction work is underway there.
Rostock (dpa/mv) - After the cancellation in 2020 due to the pandemic and the early demolition in the previous year, the Rostock Christmas market is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Hanseatic city again this year during the Advent season. "We are back in our old strength," said the head of Rostocker Großmarkt GmbH, Inga Knospe, on Tuesday. After two complicated years, there will be a Christmas market "in the old fashioned way, without masks, tests and ribbons".
The largest market in the Northeast will open on November 21st. On the approximately 3.2 kilometer long mile in the city center there are, among other things, 16 carousels, 50 decorated dealer stalls, a stage, a Christmas village, a fairy tale aunt and of course Santa Claus. A total of 180 market participants from almost all federal states as well as Poland, Finland, India and the Netherlands are represented.
According to Lothar Welte, chairman of the showmen's association in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, high inflation and expensive energy prices could lead to price increases in the "cent range" here and there. "But we want to try to keep the prices as stable as possible." The Christmas market, which lasts until December 22, should also remain a folk festival for people with a smaller budget.
A special feature is the small historic Ferris wheel - the so-called Russian swing - from 1936 on the New Market. There is also an energy saving concept. However, according to Knospe, it works where the visitors least noticed it. "There will be lights and the mulled wine will be hot," she assured. For reasons of energy saving, LED lights are required, among other things, and outdoor patio heaters have been removed.
