Let’s Meet in Gdańsk!

The Christmas Fair begins in Gdańsk, Poland, on 18 November. This much-anticipated, special time, full of charm and friendly moments, will continue until 23 December.

During the Fair, the streets of the historic heart of Gdańsk will turn into a Christmas town. Yuletide decorations, stalls with remarkable products and an extensive artistic programme will ensure that everyone will find something for themselves here. The Gdańsk Christmas Fair is where you can really experience the atmosphere of Christmas! It is an event designed for all fans of the festive mood, both for the people of the Tri-City (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot) and the surrounding area, and for visitors from Poland and beyond.

Look for Gift Ideas at the Christmas Fair!

The Fair will feature 155 stalls with unique gifts, decorations and treats. It is the perfect place to shop for unique gift ideas. Fans of folk handicraft will find wooden nutcrackers, linen and wool products, hand-blown baubles, lamps, painted angels, jewellery, natural candles and wooden toys. There will also be decorations made of dried fruit, centrepieces, Christmas ornaments and artistic ceramics.

Cuisines of the World at the Christmas Fair

Next to classic Polish Christmas delicacies, dishes from worldwide cuisines await gourmets on their visit to the Fair. This year, the offering will be particularly abundant: it will feature as many as 20 countries, including Japanese, Thai and Crimean Tatar cuisines. You can sample dishes from Lithuania, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Ukraine, Italy, Turkey and Poland. Seekers of winter flavours can have a taste of currywurst, churros, lángos, kürtőskalács, fries, French bread pizza, Christmas dumplings and aromatic mulled drinks.

New culinary items will include brioches with ice cream, crispy tofu, raclette, shrimp skewers, oscypek cheese tempura, quesadillas, cinnamon rolls and vegan bigos.

The cold Polish winter is but a breeze when, within your arm’s reach, you have hot chocolate, perfectly selected tea blends and, if you’re of age, mulled wine with aromatic spices. Warming drinks taste best in the Christmas Fair collector’s mug, each year in a different design. A portion of the revenue from the sale of the mugs will be donated to the Hospice Foundation so we encourage you to go ahead and buy them. 

Let the Sound of Christmas Ring!

The programme of the Christmas Fair consists of theme-based segments. In line with this year’s motto, Let the Sound of Christmas Ring, our stage will resonate with various types of music. Celebrated Tri-City musicians will perform during the recurring Jazz Carols concerts; Carolling in Harmony will bring you Christmas songs and carols performed by choirs with outstanding mastery; Joyful Carolling will allow you to feel the power and energy of young performers; while Carillon Carols will get you in a nostalgic mood.

Christmas Storytelling is a series of events for kids. There will be theatre productions (with a Polish Sign Language interpreter), shows, Christmas parades, visits from Santa, winter activities and daily opening of Advent Calendar windows.

Fun facts about forest life, talks, birds of prey demonstration and forest-themed music are just some of the attractions prepared by Pomorskie Region’s Foresters as part of Festive Education.

Let’s Take Action Together at Christmas!

The festive season is conducive to integration and taking action for the common good. As always, this idea will be reflected at the Christmas Fair as well. To demonstrate that, at Christmas, it is good or even vital to help others, a charity campaign will be held in partnership with the GPEC Group for the Hospice Foundation. Buying a ticket worth PLN25 will allow a group of up to three people to have unique photos taken in a bicycle-powered snow globe. As a souvenir, donors will receive a bauble with a photo of the globe. All the revenue from the sale of the tickets will go to the Hospice Foundation. You can also support the Hospice patients by buying official Christmas Fair merchandise.

The Moose Has a Say

Lucky the Moose is the undisputed star of the Fair: everybody likes him, and he speaks in a human voice! He has entertained visitors to the Christmas Fair for several years now, with his popularity always on the rise. He is waiting for his fans at Moose’s Corner in Bogusławskiego Street with guaranteed traditional moose-grade quips.

The Christmas Fair at the Armoury from 2 December

After a hiatus, the Christmas Fair will return to the historic interior of Wielka Zbrojownia (the Great Armoury) of the Academy of Fine Arts, where the Art Corner has been established. If you appreciate the value and beauty of artistic handicrafts, you will have plenty to choose from. The offering will be very broad, with unique art and handicraft such as wooden nativity scenes, natural cosmetics, wooden jigsaw puzzles, handmade Christmas cards, wooden models, handmade lanterns and paintings.

Creative workshops for children will be held at the Armoury’s Christmas Atelier, where you can prepare Christmas ornaments and centrepieces, as well as gifts from the heart: hand-decorated candles, forest-based jewellery and more. After a busy time, you can relax by doing jigsaw puzzles or playing a round of board games. The kids are welcome to film screenings at the Treflik Family Cinema, and to meetings and games with Treflik.

You can exchange books here as part of Christmas BookCrossing. 

New Arrivals at the Christmas Fair!

This year, we have a unique premiere: for the first time ever, we give you live nutcrackers, Mr & Mrs Nutcracker, with their distinctive outfits modelled on the uniforms of Gdańsk Garrison soldiers in the visual style of the Fair. Unfortunately, they don’t have their first names yet, and they probably don’t feel too good about it. We hope that this will change soon with the support of our Christmas Fair visitors.

Also new at this year’s Fair is a huge, illuminated sign JARMARK (The Fair), which will be placed in the heart of Targ Węglowy (the Coal Market) to become a great place for you to take souvenir photos. Much like the amazing angel wings at Angel Corner in Tkacka Street.

This year, for the first time, new Christmas Fair merchandise will include delicious gingerbread, aromatic coffee and colourful magnets. All this and more will be available in the fabulous cottage of the Gdańsk Tourism Organisation in the very heart of the Fair.

The calendar at the Advent Gate is a special highlight of the Gdańsk Fair. Every day from 1 to 23 December, the soldiers of the Gdańsk Garrison reveal its secrets to the delight of those with a sweet tooth. This year, the Advent Calendar and the meetings with Santa are co-organised by the E. Wedel brand, providers of the sweet, chocolaty contents of the windows.

Let’s Vote for Gdańsk!

The Gdańsk Christmas Fair is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Poland. Its fairy-tale Christmas atmosphere captivates the people of the Tri-City Area and visitors alike. This year, the Gdańsk Fair has once again been nominated for the title of European Best Christmas Market. Make sure to vote at www.christmas.ebdest.in from 25 November to 8 December 2022 (you can cast only one vote per day from a single IP address).

In 2019, the Gdańsk Christmas Fair, as the only one in Poland, took third place owing to the votes of netizens!

The Christmas Fair is an annual event and one of the city’s initiatives held under the We Are Lighting Up Christmas in Gdańsk campaign.

Gdańsk’s illuminations will be an attraction available to the general public. The Christmas illuminations will be energy efficient and meet current energy standards. In addition, with special systems in place, energy consumption will be monitored on an ongoing basis.

Christmas Freeze Frames

The Christmas Fair scenery is a perfect backdrop to capture fleeting moments with souvenir snapshots. In addition to Santa’s Radiant Throne, extremely popular last year, there will be new features: an illuminated sign JARMARK (The Fair) in its winter incarnation, angel wings for adults and children, sleighs with gifts, an arbour and a fountain. Posing for photos with visitors will be Santa Claus, Teddy Bear Gate, giant candy canes and decorative baubles (Stilt Walkers), and our showpiece: Mr & Mrs Nutcracker, also known as the Gdańsk Christmas Fair’s nutcracker Grandpa & Granny.

CHRISTMAS FAIR NON-STOP ATTRACTIONS

ANGEL MILL: Look up to see the figures!

CHRISTMAS PRESENT FACTORY AT SANTA’S HOUSE: Buy official Christmas Fair merchandise as festive gifts

KATARZYNKA THE TALKING BOX: Post a letter to Santa

ADVENT GATE: Enjoy the view of the Christmas Fair from high above

SANTA’S MAGIC SLEIGH: Check out our flight simulator

YOUNG GDAŃSKERS’ CHRISTMAS TREE: Feel the spirit of Christmas

MAGIC SNOW GLOBE WITH SWIRLING SNOW: Take a souvenir snapshot, give from your heart at the Fair and support the Hospice Foundation. Brought to you by the GPEC Group!

CAROUSEL WITH HORSES: Take a spin!

LUCKY THE MOOSE: Listen, he speaks!

SHRINE GROVE: Pause for a moment

CHRISTMAS FAIR STAGE: Enjoy the performances or have a festive photo taken on Santa’s Throne

KAZIMIERZ OSTROWSKI AWARD HONOUREE EXHIBITION / Zbrojownia Sztuki (Armoury of Art), Targ Węglowy (Coal Market), organised by: Gdańsk Academy of Fine Arts (10–31 Dec)

CHRISTMAS ILLUMINATIONS

A visit to the Christmas Fair is a must for many Gdańsk locals in the run-up to Christmas. In such atmospheric surroundings, to the sound of carolling, you can’t help but feel the togetherness and warmth of the approaching holiday. The Christmas Fair definitely plays the main part in Gdańsk!

Key information:

Stalls available to visitors:

Sunday–Thursday 12:00–20:00, Friday–Saturday 12:00-21:00

The Christmas Fair, 18 November–23 December

Targ Węglowy (Coal Market), Bogusławskiego Street, Tkacka Street, Dziedziniec Forum (Forum Courtyard)

The Christmas Fair at Zbrojownia (Armoury), 2–23 December