Pirna, a
small town in Germany between Dresden and Saxon Switzerland National Park has
a picturesque little Christmas Market.
The 38.200 townspeople obviously put all
their effort into turning the market square into a little magical Christmas
heaven. The Market is named after the Italian painter Canaletto, famous for his
large-scale paintings of Venice and also of Pirna. Every night during the
Christmas Market his work gets projected on the facades of the baroque
buildings. When looking at the massive Christmas tree, the colourful lights,
and all these smiling faces of the people one wouldn't believe that Pirna was
hit by the biggest drama only recently.
In the summer of 2013 Pirna was heavily flooded
It is
indeed a big plus for a town to sit right on the banks of the mighty Elbe, but
not when the river can't hold its water anymore and flows into the unprotected
cobbled lanes. Stores were flooded, and goods and interior heavily damaged by
water, and when the water receded there was mud literally everywhere. A shop
keeper at a bakery tells me they had to close for a year, and after reopening
now hopes that it won't happen again so soon. Cross fingers.
Pirna and the Sonnenschein Castle
Go and
visit Pirna, they have done an excellent job at rebuilding their town. To be
precise, they rebuilt it again, after they only had just done so after the cold
war ended. At the over 40 stalls you get everything from traditional Christmas
decoration and toys, homemade soup to mulled wine. There is also a
merry-go-round for the little ones. If you climb up to Sonnenschein Castle, the
view over Pirna and its Christmas Market is simply fantastic. The castle used
to be a mental hospital from 1811 and became a Euthanasia Clinic of the Nazis.
Fast forward to today, after detailed restoration works it opened its doors to
visitors in 2012.
Information Canaletto Christmas Market Pirna 2023
18 November 2023 to 30 December 2023. Monday to Wednesday 11am to 7pm. Friday and Saturday 11am to 9pm. Thursday and Sunday 11am to 7pm.
