Watercolor.

The origins of the Nuremberg Christmas Market are unknown. According to a council decision dated 22 December 1610, the woodturner Jobst Friedrich Entner (1576-1616) had his ‘shamefully painted carvings’ confiscated, which he offered for sale as ‘gifts for children’. These were boxes and small chests, ‘also made in the shape of birdhouses,’ which, when opened, revealed offensive items (Erich Nietzsch: Nuremberg – The ‘Christkindlesmarkt,’ in: Journal für Geschichte 7, 1985, pp. 4-6, here p. 6).

Although it is not clear from the council decision that the disputed items were offered for sale at a special Christmas market, the day before the council decision, 21 December, was St Thomas' Day, when the market was traditionally particularly lively and pre-Christmas shopping for the ‘Kindleinbescheren’ (gift-giving to children) took place. Jobst Friedrich Entner offered his objectionable goods for sale on this day.

In 1805, master tinsmith and dialect poet Johann Conrad Grübel (1736-1809) wrote the poem ‘Der Kindleinsmarkt am Thomastage’ (The Children's Market on St. Thomas' Day), which reads:

Dös g'häiert mit zon Kindlesmark
Und mit zon Thomestog,
Dau soucht a Jeder, wos'n g'fällt
Und kafft sih, wos er mog.

Hans Boesch (1849–1905), director of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, published an article entitled ‘Am Kinderspieltisch unserer Voreltern’ (At our ancestors’ children’s play table) in the magazine Gartenlaube in 1891, pp. 851–854. In it, he also evaluated the notes of the Nuremberg patrician Lukas Friedrich Behaim (1587-1648), who kept careful records of his expenses for festive gifts. The three children, a girl aged 7 1/2 and two boys aged 6 1/2 and 1 1/2, received various ells of fabric, braids, buttons, 100 needles, thread, ‘Häcklein und Schleiflein’ (hooks and eyes), boots, slippers, shoes, an apron, a school basket, hymn books, a tablet, a golden hair cap and other items. Mr Behaim had spent 6 florins and 33 kreuzers on all kinds of ‘Dockenwaar’ (small items). The total expenditure for the ‘Kindleinbescheeren’ amounted to 68 florins and 28 kreuzers, half of which the lady of the house had received in cash. In 1625, the children were allowed to visit the famous Nuremberg ‘Kindlesmarkt’ for the first time. The children received a total of eight kreuzers for their purchases. This means that the Christkindlesmarkt could celebrate its 400th anniversary as early as 2025.

The oldest surviving item purchased at the Christkindlesmarkt is a small painted chipwood box in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Written in black ink on the underside of the lid is: ‘Regina Susanna Harßdörfferin von der Jungfrau Susanna Eleonora Elbsin zum Kindles-Marck überschickt 1678.’ The recipient, Regina Susanna Harsdörfer, lived from 1663 to 1731, so she was 15 years old when she received the box. The giver, Susanna Eleonora Elbß, daughter of Georg Sebastian Elbß and Leonora Kraus, lived from 1654 to 1711.

Watercolor.

The origins of the Nuremberg Christmas Market are unknown. According to a council decision dated 22 December 1610, the woodturner Jobst Friedrich Entner (1576-1616) had his ‘shamefully painted carvings’ confiscated, which he offered for sale as ‘gifts for children’. These were boxes and small chests, ‘also made in the shape of birdhouses,’ which, when opened, revealed offensive items (Erich Nietzsch: Nuremberg – The ‘Christkindlesmarkt,’ in: Journal für Geschichte 7, 1985, pp. 4-6, here p. 6).

Although it is not clear from the council decision that the disputed items were offered for sale at a special Christmas market, the day before the council decision, 21 December, was St Thomas' Day, when the market was traditionally particularly lively and pre-Christmas shopping for the ‘Kindleinbescheren’ (gift-giving to children) took place. Jobst Friedrich Entner offered his objectionable goods for sale on this day.

In 1805, master tinsmith and dialect poet Johann Conrad Grübel (1736-1809) wrote the poem ‘Der Kindleinsmarkt am Thomastage’ (The Children's Market on St. Thomas' Day), which reads:

Dös g'häiert mit zon Kindlesmark
Und mit zon Thomestog,
Dau soucht a Jeder, wos'n g'fällt
Und kafft sih, wos er mog.

Hans Boesch (1849–1905), director of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, published an article entitled ‘Am Kinderspieltisch unserer Voreltern’ (At our ancestors’ children’s play table) in the magazine Gartenlaube in 1891, pp. 851–854. In it, he also evaluated the notes of the Nuremberg patrician Lukas Friedrich Behaim (1587-1648), who kept careful records of his expenses for festive gifts. The three children, a girl aged 7 1/2 and two boys aged 6 1/2 and 1 1/2, received various ells of fabric, braids, buttons, 100 needles, thread, ‘Häcklein und Schleiflein’ (hooks and eyes), boots, slippers, shoes, an apron, a school basket, hymn books, a tablet, a golden hair cap and other items. Mr Behaim had spent 6 florins and 33 kreuzers on all kinds of ‘Dockenwaar’ (small items). The total expenditure for the ‘Kindleinbescheeren’ amounted to 68 florins and 28 kreuzers, half of which the lady of the house had received in cash. In 1625, the children were allowed to visit the famous Nuremberg ‘Kindlesmarkt’ for the first time. The children received a total of eight kreuzers for their purchases. This means that the Christkindlesmarkt could celebrate its 400th anniversary as early as 2025.

The oldest surviving item purchased at the Christkindlesmarkt is a small painted chipwood box in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Written in black ink on the underside of the lid is: ‘Regina Susanna Harßdörfferin von der Jungfrau Susanna Eleonora Elbsin zum Kindles-Marck überschickt 1678.’ The recipient, Regina Susanna Harsdörfer, lived from 1663 to 1731, so she was 15 years old when she received the box. The giver, Susanna Eleonora Elbß, daughter of Georg Sebastian Elbß and Leonora Kraus, lived from 1654 to 1711.

Watercolor.

The origins of the Nuremberg Christmas Market are unknown. According to a council decision dated 22 December 1610, the woodturner Jobst Friedrich Entner (1576-1616) had his ‘shamefully painted carvings’ confiscated, which he offered for sale as ‘gifts for children’. These were boxes and small chests, ‘also made in the shape of birdhouses,’ which, when opened, revealed offensive items (Erich Nietzsch: Nuremberg – The ‘Christkindlesmarkt,’ in: Journal für Geschichte 7, 1985, pp. 4-6, here p. 6).

Although it is not clear from the council decision that the disputed items were offered for sale at a special Christmas market, the day before the council decision, 21 December, was St Thomas' Day, when the market was traditionally particularly lively and pre-Christmas shopping for the ‘Kindleinbescheren’ (gift-giving to children) took place. Jobst Friedrich Entner offered his objectionable goods for sale on this day.

In 1805, master tinsmith and dialect poet Johann Conrad Grübel (1736-1809) wrote the poem ‘Der Kindleinsmarkt am Thomastage’ (The Children's Market on St. Thomas' Day), which reads:

Dös g'häiert mit zon Kindlesmark
Und mit zon Thomestog,
Dau soucht a Jeder, wos'n g'fällt
Und kafft sih, wos er mog.

Hans Boesch (1849–1905), director of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, published an article entitled ‘Am Kinderspieltisch unserer Voreltern’ (At our ancestors’ children’s play table) in the magazine Gartenlaube in 1891, pp. 851–854. In it, he also evaluated the notes of the Nuremberg patrician Lukas Friedrich Behaim (1587-1648), who kept careful records of his expenses for festive gifts. The three children, a girl aged 7 1/2 and two boys aged 6 1/2 and 1 1/2, received various ells of fabric, braids, buttons, 100 needles, thread, ‘Häcklein und Schleiflein’ (hooks and eyes), boots, slippers, shoes, an apron, a school basket, hymn books, a tablet, a golden hair cap and other items. Mr Behaim had spent 6 florins and 33 kreuzers on all kinds of ‘Dockenwaar’ (small items). The total expenditure for the ‘Kindleinbescheeren’ amounted to 68 florins and 28 kreuzers, half of which the lady of the house had received in cash. In 1625, the children were allowed to visit the famous Nuremberg ‘Kindlesmarkt’ for the first time. The children received a total of eight kreuzers for their purchases. This means that the Christkindlesmarkt could celebrate its 400th anniversary as early as 2025.

The oldest surviving item purchased at the Christkindlesmarkt is a small painted chipwood box in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Written in black ink on the underside of the lid is: ‘Regina Susanna Harßdörfferin von der Jungfrau Susanna Eleonora Elbsin zum Kindles-Marck überschickt 1678.’ The recipient, Regina Susanna Harsdörfer, lived from 1663 to 1731, so she was 15 years old when she received the box. The giver, Susanna Eleonora Elbß, daughter of Georg Sebastian Elbß and Leonora Kraus, lived from 1654 to 1711.

Watercolor.

The origins of the Nuremberg Christmas Market are unknown. According to a council decision dated 22 December 1610, the woodturner Jobst Friedrich Entner (1576-1616) had his ‘shamefully painted carvings’ confiscated, which he offered for sale as ‘gifts for children’. These were boxes and small chests, ‘also made in the shape of birdhouses,’ which, when opened, revealed offensive items (Erich Nietzsch: Nuremberg – The ‘Christkindlesmarkt,’ in: Journal für Geschichte 7, 1985, pp. 4-6, here p. 6).

Although it is not clear from the council decision that the disputed items were offered for sale at a special Christmas market, the day before the council decision, 21 December, was St Thomas' Day, when the market was traditionally particularly lively and pre-Christmas shopping for the ‘Kindleinbescheren’ (gift-giving to children) took place. Jobst Friedrich Entner offered his objectionable goods for sale on this day.

In 1805, master tinsmith and dialect poet Johann Conrad Grübel (1736-1809) wrote the poem ‘Der Kindleinsmarkt am Thomastage’ (The Children's Market on St. Thomas' Day), which reads:

Dös g'häiert mit zon Kindlesmark
Und mit zon Thomestog,
Dau soucht a Jeder, wos'n g'fällt
Und kafft sih, wos er mog.

Hans Boesch (1849–1905), director of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, published an article entitled ‘Am Kinderspieltisch unserer Voreltern’ (At our ancestors’ children’s play table) in the magazine Gartenlaube in 1891, pp. 851–854. In it, he also evaluated the notes of the Nuremberg patrician Lukas Friedrich Behaim (1587-1648), who kept careful records of his expenses for festive gifts. The three children, a girl aged 7 1/2 and two boys aged 6 1/2 and 1 1/2, received various ells of fabric, braids, buttons, 100 needles, thread, ‘Häcklein und Schleiflein’ (hooks and eyes), boots, slippers, shoes, an apron, a school basket, hymn books, a tablet, a golden hair cap and other items. Mr Behaim had spent 6 florins and 33 kreuzers on all kinds of ‘Dockenwaar’ (small items). The total expenditure for the ‘Kindleinbescheeren’ amounted to 68 florins and 28 kreuzers, half of which the lady of the house had received in cash. In 1625, the children were allowed to visit the famous Nuremberg ‘Kindlesmarkt’ for the first time. The children received a total of eight kreuzers for their purchases. This means that the Christkindlesmarkt could celebrate its 400th anniversary as early as 2025.

The oldest surviving item purchased at the Christkindlesmarkt is a small painted chipwood box in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Written in black ink on the underside of the lid is: ‘Regina Susanna Harßdörfferin von der Jungfrau Susanna Eleonora Elbsin zum Kindles-Marck überschickt 1678.’ The recipient, Regina Susanna Harsdörfer, lived from 1663 to 1731, so she was 15 years old when she received the box. The giver, Susanna Eleonora Elbß, daughter of Georg Sebastian Elbß and Leonora Kraus, lived from 1654 to 1711.