As part of the day trip to Stuttgart, we decided to add on a visit to the Christmas Markets in Esslingen. Just a 17-minute S-banh train ride from Stuttgart, the train trip to Esslingen is covered by our regional ticket, so visiting was a no brainer.
Esslingen is a medieval city that resides on the Neckar River upstream from Stuttgart. It has more than 200 half-timbered houses, including some of the oldest in Germany. They have a lovely Christmas Market set in the Marktplatz surrounded by gorgeous historic churches and other buildings. But that is not what drew us to Esslingen. We came to see the other Christmas Market… the Medieval Market.
Merchants in historical costumes offer spices, wooden toys, things made by a blacksmith, fortunes told by “seers”, etc. for sale as they did hundreds of years ago, in more than 180 huts made to look like they must have looked in medieval times. There’s archery and axe throwing. Kids’ games where you use miniature catapults to lob blocks over the ramparts of a model medieval fortress. Stilt walkers, jugglers, fire-eaters and minstrels cavort. There is even a manually-operated Ferris Wheel. Set against the village’s half-timbered houses, the market truly feels as it must have back in the day (Pictures don’t do it justice.) It’s a Christmas Renaissance Faire mashup, but without the giant turkey legs.
If you’re here on the Winter Solstice, you’re in for a treat. At the magic hour of the evening, when the sky has grown sufficiently dark, visitors and the costumed market folk make their way up to the castle in a torch-lit procession. Once at the top, the fire show starts, and winter is welcomed with drums and singing. I’ve heard it’s quite the event!
