German stereotypes dissipate – despite me wearing my practical winter shoes – as I approach SANTA PAULI Christmas market. Hordes of people march excitedly alongside me from the nearest U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations and are instantly greeted by a gigantic disco ball, a near-naked Santa mascot, a striptease show and stalls selling mulled wine, sausages and sex toys.
SANTA PAULI is not your traditional fairytale Nürnberg Christmas market. It’s located in Hamburg, right at the heart of the city’s red light and entertainment district, St. Pauli, and since moving here in 2017, my run-up to Christmas is incomplete if I don’t visit this market.
Whether you enjoy traditional winter festivities or are open to a bit of Christmas quirkiness, here’s why you should visit Hamburg’s SANTA PAULI market (no ad, I promise).
It’s intimate in terms of size and offering
Visitors need no longer than 40 minutes to really browse each stall down the strip, if they’re able to navigate the lively crowds at this relatively small market. It’s generally best to come here on a weekday, when you can still seamlessly slalom through groups and gatherings. I’ve always enjoyed my visits to SANTA PAULI more than at other Hamburg Christmas markets because the crowds are generally more mature, manageable and relaxed when you go at “off-peak” times.
The traders at this market are a colourful mix of local businesses and vendors from further afield. It’s fascinating to watch couples (even families) make their way through stalls of knitted woollen hats, wooden Hamburg-themed Christmas cards, hand-carved wooden sex toys, body piercings and penis candles made from beeswax.
SANTA PAULI also sells its own cheerful merchandise. The iconic mulled wine mugs illustrated with Santa’s unconventional helpers – from a naked angel to a pink bulldog – are now popular collector’s items that you can buy online or at the stalls when you order a drink.
It’s still your average Weihnachtsmarkt at heart
SANTA PAULI is without a doubt the most unique Christmas market I’ve ever visited in Germany, but that’s not to say that you can’t get your conventional festive fix here.
You can still buy traditional glühwein, Feuerzangenbowle or an alcohol-free hot punch from one of the many stalls for around €8 (including a €3 deposit). On Mondays, you can even buy Einhornglühwein (unicorn mulled wine), a sparkly pink mulled wine garnished with a candy cane for those who don’t consider glühwein sweet enough.
The market is as traditional as it gets when it comes to food. You can buy sausages in a roll for €5 at almost every stall down the strip – from your “spicy” Krakauer sausages to your bratwurst. Other German delicacies are also available, such as Spätzle, Kaiserschmarrn, Flammkuchen, potatoes, quark and meatloaf.
There are, of course, alternative options, such as falafel, for those who don’t want to fulfil all the German Christmas clichés, or for those with dietary requirements. It is, after all, a progressive market. You can spend as little as €5 or as much as €16, depending on the size of your appetite and your budget.
It reveals Germans aren’t always as serious as they look
This last point is to remind any foreigner building a life in Germany or visiting Germany that it’s important to stay open-minded vis-a-vis the German mindset, which is stereotypically depicted as serious and stern. It’s not just about telling stories of surviving the struggles of living abroad; it’s also about sharing and appreciating these glimpses of humour.
Whether it’s your first time spending the festive season in Germany or you’re on season 7 of living abroad, like me, this Christmas market will prompt you to look at German humour in a whole new light. In an audacious new, pink, sparkly light.
Despite the homesickness that usually creeps in towards the end of the year, I’m happy to spend my Decembers in Hamburg. And I’m especially happy to stop off for a stroll around SANTA PAULI for its lighthearted spirit and the brilliant creativity that has gone into marketing this market.
I mean, it’s hard to imagine, particularly when you catch sight of the dildo-adorned Christmas tree, that this kind of Christmas market would fly in Germany’s more conservative Southern regions. But Hamburg is known within Germany for its progressive politics and way of life, and the St. Pauli neighbourhood embodies this spirit better than anywhere else in the city.
It’s a pretty fun X-rated Xmas market
SANTA PAULI may not be your authentic German Christmas market, but it is eccentric, flamboyantly festive and fun. Once you’ve had your fair share of food and entertainment – and you feel your toes freezing, like me in my “practical” winter shoes – you can head back indoors to enjoy shelter from the icy Nordic wind.
The SANTA PAULI Christmas market is open every day between 13 November and 23 December at Spielbudenplatz in Hamburg, Germany. Entry is free of charge.
About the author
Sara Vordermeier is a Hamburg-based freelance writer and editor specialising in culture, technology and sports stories from her life abroad. Her professional writing experience spans more than seven years in the fields of content marketing and journalism.
Get to know more about Sara here.
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