Jena Christmas Market from November 25 to December 22

From November 25 to December 22, Jena's city center will once again be transformed into a paradise for all Christmas fans. In addition to festive lighting and a Christmas tree on the market square, the Jena Christmas market will also take place again this year. After the Christmas market had to be canceled last year due to the pandemic and long-term planning was hardly possible in recent months, the joy is now all the greater that the Jena Christmas market 2021 can probably take place.

"We had to wait a long time to see which options for a Christmas market would be legally possible at all, but with the new Thuringian industry regulation for organized events, we have now been given a basis that is easy to implement and, above all, friendly for visitors," explains Daniel Illing, Head of Events at JenaKultur.

The Jena Christmas market will take place as usual on the Jena market square, the Eichplatz area and in Rathausgasse. There will once again be unique products from the region, gift ideas and, of course, delicious food and drinks at various stands. "The number of stalls registered this year is slightly lower than in 2019, but the various traders will still be offering the usual variety of products," says Oliver Klinke, market master at JenaKultur. In addition to the typical stalls, this year's Christmas market will once again feature the traditional tower blowing every day at 5 pm and the funfair on half of Eichplatz. The largest Christmas pyramid in Thuringia can also be admired there once again.

The historic Christmas market at Faulloch am Johannistor is also being planned for this year. It is expected to run from 25.11. to 12.12.2021 and will mainly sell handicrafts in a medieval atmosphere.

In order to comply with the Christmas market's infection protection concept, visitors are required to wear a face mask in confined spaces. The 2G or 3G rule can be waived according to the current infection situation. This also means that fencing off the area is not necessary and all areas of the Christmas market are freely accessible.

Current information on the Christmas market and other dates can be found at www.jenakultur.de/maerkte.

New future concept for the Jena markets and city festivals 2022plus

Jena's markets and city festivals will remain an exciting topic for the coming years, as preparations for a new future concept are currently underway. Back in January 2020, the Jena City Council passed a resolution entitled "The future of Jena's markets and city festivals" (19/0232-BV), instructing the city's own municipal enterprise JenaKultur to develop a future concept for "Markets/City Festivals 2022plus", but the coronavirus pandemic has delayed work on the concept. The aim of the concept is to further develop the markets and city festivals. This includes, for example, looking at possible alternative areas for the funfair when the development of Eichplatz is expected to begin in 2023.

Showmen, the city center initiative and interested city society are to be involved in the development of the concept. A multi-stage participation process has been planned for this purpose: As a first step, an ideas workshop will take place on 18.10.2021, at which JenaKultur will first present the status quo regarding Jena's markets & city festivals and initial comments & suggestions will be discussed and summarized by those involved.

In order to involve the people of Jena in the process, a questionnaire has been created in which everyone can contribute their wishes and comments on the markets and city festivals. The questionnaire will be available at various locations in the city and can now also be found on the JenaKultur website. The questionnaire can be downloaded as a PDF file, filled out and then returned to the Jena Tourist Information Office. From next week, the questionnaire will also be available as an online survey. The survey will run until 12.11.2021. The results will then be evaluated and finally used as the basis for fleshing out the concept in a second ideas workshop on 22.11.2021.

The aim is for the future concept to be presented to the city council for approval in the first quarter of 2022.

Further information on the future concept and the questionnaire can be found at www.jenakultur.de/zukunftskonzept