Each year in early December, the Main Market Square in Nuremberg, Germany is transformed into one of the most atmospheric Christmas Markets in the world.
Known as Christkindlesmarkt, this magical place is an enchanting village where visitors browse stalls bedecked with red and white awnings while shopping for a variety of handmade gifts.
Christkindlesmarkt and Prune People
During the day, horses clip-clop around the market giving rides in fanciful old-fashioned mail coaches. By evening, the place is transformed into a charming fairytale town in which thousands of lights flicker under a deep indigo sky. All the while, the pungent aroma of mulled wine, the scents of grilled sausages, and the tang of spicy gingerbread waft through the air.
This atmosphere was just what I was looking for, so a friend and I decided to visit the Nuremberg Christmas Market to search for unique holiday gifts. We never guessed that the gifts we’d find would be made from prunes.
The Enchanting Tradition of Prune People
When we saw the first Prune Men booth (prune people, actually!) we knew we’d found what we were looking for.
These cute little miniature figures, known as Prune Men, or Zwetschgenmännle in the Nuremberg dialect, are small doll-like creations made of dried plums, nuts, raisins, and figs.
The plum figures were most likely created as children’s toys by Croatian cavalrymen during the Thirty Years War. The word “Zwetschge” is not of German origin, but a Slavic expression for “plum”. The figures were probably brought into Germany from the East.
Often dressed today as chimneysweeps or devils in the Czech Republic, these figures are found in all the fruit-growing areas of Europe. They are considered patron saints of the family and are placed in windows facing outside to prevent harm to those living in the house.
Too cute to eat (and not really edible) the Nuremberg prune people are one of the most popular souvenirs at the Christkindlesmarkt. The dried fruit used to create them is beaded onto wires: figs make up the bodies, painted walnuts the heads, and dried prunes the arms and legs.
Snippets of cloth are used to tailor small sets of clothes for the prune men and women; they reminded us of the costumes worn by the inhabitants of the rural areas around Nuremberg.
Historical Roots: The Origin Story of Nuremberg’s Prune People
Walter Köttig, who has been selling prune people at the market since 1994, has more than 200 varieties of the figures. He’ll even make custom designs. Once he transformed a Nuremberg prune man into a Scottish plum person by dressing him in a kilt and equipping him with self-made bagpipes.
So why were these figures invented?
It is said that a poor man had a tough time bringing his family through the harsh winter. The idea came to him to produce plum figures in the way that his grandmother had taught him, and he sold these figures at the Nuremberg Christmas Market with incredible success.
Nuremberg Christmas Market: A Winter Wonderland
Two million people visit the Nuremberg Christmas Market each year, and following the old tradition, these plum figures are sold in fourteen stalls. With so many varieties of these figures to choose from, collecting them can become an annual experience.
Soft snowflakes fell as we strolled through the Market purchasing prune people and other treasures. Inevitably, though, the cold began to creep into our bones, and our fingers, toes, and the tip of our noses went numb. At the Nuremberg Market, there is only one solution for this: hot mulled wine.
Warm Up with Hot Mulled Wine
A sip of this sweet blueberry liquid offers the seductive taste of cinnamon and cloves, warming frozen visitors and calming pre-Christmas jitters. And every year a new motif is printed on the cups, making them a sought-after collectors’ item.
As the twinkling lights of the Nuremberg Christmas Market faded into the night, we left with more than just the warmth of mulled wine in our hearts. Holding onto our cherished souvenir mugs, we carried with us the enduring spirit of Nuremberg’s festive season.
For me, it’s a souvenir that brings back happy memories every time I take a drink from it.
