Heidelberg Events
Heidelberg Christmas Market
Little winter forest on Kornmarkt © Heidelberg Marketing, photo by Thorsten Assfalg
On November 25, 2024, it’s that time once again: for many, the best weeks of the year begin as the scent of almonds, gingerbread, and mulled wine fills the Old Town, inviting you to stroll through the squares of the Heidelberg Christmas Market.
Special attractions include the Heidelberg Barrel at the Market Square, the Christmas pyramid at University Square, the little winter forest on Kornmarkt, and the ice rink at Karlsplatz, one of the most beautiful in Germany.
The Christmas Market ends on December 22, 2024, the little winter forest will be open until January 1, 2025, and the ice rink even until January 6, 2025.
Our tip: Every Advent Saturday at 4.30 p.m., a Christmas Market tour (in German) provides fascinating insights into the region’s Christmas and pre-Christmas traditions – including a cup of mulled wine or punch.
Magic Circus
Magical show highlights and Christmas moments at the “Magic Circus” © KS Eventproduktionen GmbH
This year, the spectacular Heidelberg Christmas show “Magic Circus” will once again enchant with brilliant moments and a magical, glittering Christmas ambience in a family atmosphere.
The audience favorite and German runner-up in magic, Maxim Maurice, returns to the stage with brand new tricks, spectacular illusions and his unmistakable humor, creating magical moments that delight young and old. An internationally acclaimed ensemble supports him with breathtaking acrobatics, rousing comedy, futuristic show highlights and glamorous dance interludes.
The show at the Heidelberg Messplatz runs from 20th December 2024 – 6th January 2025.
Rainbow Gospel & Soul Connection at Augustinum
The “Rainbow Gospel & Soul Connection” makes church pews shake © Rainbow Gospel & Soul Connection
The Rainbow Gospel & Soul Connection from Mannheim-Feudenheim has been singing modern and old gospels, spirituals and secular songs for over 30 years. The approximately 35 singers are “amateurs” in the best sense of the word – real music lovers – and are also a visual eye-catcher with their colorful outfits and lively choreography.
Choir director Joe Völker has been keeping this gospel choir on its toes and in the mood for over twenty years with commitment, humor and good nerves. When he is not directing the choir or arranging songs for it, he appears on Germany’s theater and musical stages – in 2009 even on Broadway in New York.
On the 15th December 2024 at 3:30 p.m. the choir will perform on stage at the Augustinum Heidelberg
Full Program at Karlstorbahnhof
Quadro Nuevo plays Christmas carols. Charmingly interpreted. Unusual and yet familiar © Quadro Nuevo
During the festive month of December, the Karlstorbahnhof cultural center will be offering many exciting events.
It all starts with a “fair brunch” around the theme of chocolate on the first Advent sunday. A buffet with fair trade and sustainable delicacies invites you to feast with a clear conscience. Young designers and creative people from the region will provide fresh inspiration for buying Christmas gifts at numerous stands at the “Melle X-Mas Market”, taking place on the second Advent sunday. On the third Advent sunday, some of the most beautiful Christmas pop songs will be sung together under charming guidance at the Choir Club.
Christmas concerts by the Norwegian singer-songwriter Rebekka Bakken (11th December 2024) and the tango and jazz-inspired ensemble Quadro Nuevo (18th December 2024) will also provide space for contemplation.
And of course there is a big New Year’s Eve party at the end of the month to celebrate the new year in style.
Did you know …
… that the Bunsen burner was invented in Heidelberg?
Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen, born on March 30, 1811 in Göttingen, died on August 16, 1899 in Heidelberg, was a German chemist. Together with Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, he discovered caesium and rubidium in 1861 and developed spectral analysis, which can be used to detect chemical elements in a highly specific manner. For this purpose, Bunsen perfected a particular gas torch, which had previously been invented by Michael Faraday and would later be called the Bunsen burner. During his time at the University of Heidelberg, Bunsen taught well over 3,000 students. In his honor, a statue was erected in the anatomy garden.
You can even take a Bunsen tour of Heidelberg.
One of his students was the chemist Henry Roscoe. About Robert Bunsen, he said: “As an investigator, he was great. As a teacher, even greater. As a man and friend, he was greatest.”
Did you know …
Charles Francois de Graimberg (1774 – 1864) in a portrait by Guido Schmitt, 1902 © Kurpfälzisches Museum Heidelberg
… that a Frenchman, Charles de Graimberg, saved the Heidelberg Castle ruins?
Charles de Graimberg came to Heidelberg in 1810 to make copperplate engravings of the castle ruins and the town – and remained in Heidelberg until his death in 1864. Back then, he was shocked to discover that the people of Heidelberg were using the ruins as a quarry for their houses and the castle garden as a potato field. Furthermore, a contract had already been signed with a demolition company.
He campaigned for the preservation of the ruins with personal commitment and his own money, paid guards, even took up residence in the castle and his copperplate engravings made Heidelberg known to a broad public. He was successful.
And so, thanks to Charles de Graimberg, we can still marvel at this world-famous symbol of Romanticism today.
Did you know …
… that Heidelberg is the most sustainable city in Germany?
The latest city ranking by business magazine WirtschaftsWoche concludes that Heidelberg is the most sustainable and future-oriented city in Germany.
Among other things, Heidelberg impresses with its passive house district Bahnstadt, the new energy storage facility in Pfaffengrund and the lowest youth unemployment rate.
Furthermore, the ranking highlights the high value that science and research, education and training have for Heidelberg. Every fifth euro in the city’s budget is invested for the benefit of children and young people, and around 70% of employees in Heidelberg work in knowledge-intensive services.