Where our huts stand today in front of Schloss Mirabell (Mirabell Palace), the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt – the Austrian name for a traditional Christmas market – already stood once before, after the Second World War; today it’s on Domplatz. But the history of Salzburg’s Christmas markets goes back much further, to a market under the cathedral arches (Dombögen) more than 500 years ago. Here’s the Salzburg Christmas market history as seen from our square, the story of the Mirabell Christmas market, along with where we got the dates from.
How long has there been a Christmas market at Mirabellplatz? Our present-day Christmas market at Mirabellplatz has existed since 1990. Before that, according to Salzburg city historian Peter F. Kramml, the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt moved onto the square in 1948 – a separate market that has been at home on Domplatz since 1974.
You’ll find out who has a stall with us today further down.
Salzburg Christmas market history in brief: Mirabellplatz and the Christkindlmarkt
| Year | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1491 | A “Tandelmarkt” – Tandlmarkt (a market for trinkets and small wares) – under the cathedral arches is first recorded | Kramml 2007 |
| 17th century | The market becomes the Nikolaimarkt (St. Nicholas Market), held around St. Nicholas Day | Salzburg Tourism |
| 1946 | After the war, the Christkindlmarkt starts in the Kurpark (spa gardens) | Kramml 2007 |
| 1948 | The Christkindlmarkt moves to Mirabellplatz | Kramml 2007 |
| 1974 | The Christkindlmarkt moves to Domplatz | Kramml 2007, organiser |
| 1990 | Our present-day Christmas market at Mirabellplatz begins | our homepage |
Tandlmarkt and Nikolaimarkt: where Salzburg’s Christmas markets began
The history of Salzburg’s Christmas markets begins in the Old Town. According to historian Peter F. Kramml of the Salzburg City Archives, a “Tandelmarkt” is first recorded in 1491: a market for second-hand goods and bric-a-brac, held under the cathedral arches from mid-November until Christmas. According to Salzburgwiki, Prince-Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach introduced the market in 1515, while Salzburg Tourism speaks of roots in the late 15th century.
In the 17th century, according to Salzburg Tourism, it became the Nikolaimarkt, a proper pre-Christmas market around St. Nicholas Day on 6 December. Alongside it, according to Kramml, there was a separate Christmas market on Alter Markt from the late 17th century onwards, with sweet treats and turned woodwork. According to Kramml, townspeople were still selling under the cathedral arches until the 1930s.
So the Tandlmarkt of 1491 did not stand at Mirabellplatz. Salzburg Tourism and the organiser of the Christkindlmarkt see it as the root of today’s Christkindlmarkt on Domplatz and Residenzplatz.
After 1945: the Christkindlmarkt in front of Schloss Mirabell
After the Second World War, according to Kramml, the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt began in 1946 in the Kurpark and moved to Mirabellplatz in 1948. The City of Salzburg archive holds a photo of this Christkindlmarkt in front of Schloss Mirabell from 1960. Salzburgwiki describes the early years a little differently: small stalls from 1948 and a first larger market in 1950 on Rainerstraße, at the edge of Mirabellplatz.
Since 1974, according to Kramml, the Christkindlmarkt has stood on Domplatz (Salzburgwiki gives 1977). What the Christkindlmarkt looks like today and why it’s worth a visit is in our article on the Christkindlmarkt in Salzburg.
1990: a fresh start at Mirabellplatz
In 1990, our present-day Christmas market began at Mirabellplatz. It’s a market in its own right and not a successor to the Christkindlmarkt, which now stands on Domplatz. Since then it has stayed small and personal.
Some of our stallholders have been with us for a very long time. Ludwig Glier, who today sells chocolate-dipped fruit and roasted (candied) almonds, counts himself among the founding members. In our questionnaire he wrote: “I’ve been part of the Christmas market at Mirabellplatz since the beginning.” The first five years, he says, were the hardest. The Neureiter family’s Christl-Alm has also been with us from the very beginning, Alexandra Wirnsberger’s incense hut for almost 30 years and Alexander Reisinger’s Salzburger Brezen (Salzburg-style pretzels) for more than 25 years.
Our exhibitors
Some of our stallholders have been with us for decades. You’ll find their stories in our exhibitor overview.
A square with a market tradition: Mirabell Palace, the Schranne and St. Andrew’s Church
Mirabellplatz (Mirabell Square) was a market square even before the Christmas market came along. According to Kramml, the city’s market regulations of June 1906 designated the square in front of the Schranne of that time as a weekly market. The Schranne, the weekly Thursday farmers’ market at Mirabellplatz, still takes place around St. Andrew’s Church (Andräkirche) today.
According to Salzburgwiki, St. Andrew’s Church on the edge of the square was built in the neo-Gothic style between 1892 and 1898. Schloss Mirabell itself is much older: Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich had it built in 1606. What you can see in the palace and the Mirabell Gardens in winter is in our article on the Mirabell Gardens in winter.
Frequently asked questions
Our present-day Christmas market at Mirabellplatz has existed since 1990. Before that, according to city historian Peter F. Kramml, the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt moved onto the square in 1948 – a separate market that has stood on Domplatz since 1974.
No. According to Kramml, the Tandelmarkt recorded in 1491 took place under the cathedral arches, not at Mirabellplatz.
The Tandlmarkt was a market for second-hand goods and bric-a-brac under the cathedral arches. In the 17th century it became the Nikolaimarkt, held around St. Nicholas Day. Christkindlmarkt is the name of the Christmas market that, according to Kramml, started afresh in 1946 after the Second World War and now stands on Domplatz. Its organiser and Salzburg Tourism see its roots in the Tandlmarkt.
According to Kramml, in the Kurpark in 1946. In 1948 it moved to Mirabellplatz, and since 1974 it has stood on Domplatz.
According to Kramml and the organiser, in 1974. Salzburgwiki gives 1977 instead.
The Schranne is a traditional weekly market held every Thursday around St. Andrew’s Church at Mirabellplatz. According to Kramml, the market regulations of 1906 already designated the square in front of the Schranne as a weekly market.
Sources
Peter F. Kramml: “150 Jahre Grünmarkt – Die Stadt Salzburg und ihre Märkte” (150 years of the Grünmarkt – the city of Salzburg and its markets), in: Landesgeschichte aktuell no. 141, Freunde der Salzburger Geschichte, April 2007 (which also mentions the 1960 photo in the City of Salzburg archive) · Salzburgwiki: Nicolaimarkt, Salzburger Christkindlmarkt, Stadtpfarrkirche St. Andrä, Schloss Mirabell (retrieved 26 October 2026) · Salzburg Tourism: Salzburger Christkindlmarkt (retrieved 26 October 2026) · organiser of the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt, tradition and history (retrieved 26 October 2026) · our homepage (retrieved 27 October 2026) · information from the market association on the Christl-Alm (26 October 2026) · exhibitor questionnaire, Ludwig Glier (19 October 2026)