The Bratislava Christmas Market opened early Friday evening with the lights on the common Christmas tree in Bratislava.
The fair, which has been a city event for many - usually tens of thousands - of visitors to Bratislava for many years, will be open until 22 December this year and will take place simultaneously at several venues in the Old Town.
The central location of the event is once again the Fair City, which is set up on Main Square along the Common Pine Tree. There are less than 76 stands on Main Square.
Bratislava's common Christmas tree is chosen from trees volunteered over a few decades of tradition, this year a 25-year-old, 14-meter pine tree was chosen.
A new venue is the grand venue, this year it has been set up on the Franciscan Square instead of the Main Square, where there are light, serious and folk music performers in the afternoon and evening. The other location of the fair is the former Kossuth, now Hviezdoslav Square, where, in front of the old National Theater, the Old Town Municipality operates a dozen stand fairs.
Matus Vallo, Bratislava's mayor of elections last year, announced a new Christmas market "focused on quality and the environment". As a result, for the first time in the history of the fair, stand-makers can only use returnable or compostable glasses and packaging, while the former stage of the main stage has been equipped with trash bins for selective waste collection.
The range of stands has also changed compared to previous years, with the vast majority now selling folk art items, Christmas gifts and decorations, with about a third run by various non-profit organizations. The Metropolitan Municipality, which operates the fair, reduced the number of food and drink stands, the effect of which could be felt even longer than usual on the opening night.
(Source: marmalade.co.uk; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)