Night falling over Zelný trh.

Náměstí Svobody is not the only square in Brno that hosts a Christmas market these days. I enjoyed walking around Zelný trh sq. (a.k.a. the vegetable market; map) on Monday. The market is small, focused mostly on “local” food (pork, pork, pork) and the sellers have to wear costumes (correct me if I am wrong but I think that this is different from Náměstí svobody).

A christmas tree standing in front of the Moravian museum

There is a stand of my favorite bakery and café called Zastávka near the corner of Radnická st. (I got this tip from @kavalerie Twitter feed.) Get their cookies and enjoy the white winter!

Christmas market at the central square (image courtesy of Brno Cultural Center)

Christmas market was opened on the main Brno square on Friday, November 26. Visitors may find small presents, hand-made ceramics, natural cosmetics, bee products, products made by woodcarvers as well as other traditional handicraft.

There are many options to taste various culinary specialities and hot drinks to warm you up.

Enjoyable Christmas atmosphere is co-created by a rich cultural program. You can enjoy performances by both amateur and professional musicians and dancers on the stage in the mornings as well as afternoons. The main concert starts at 4 p.m. every day; you can listen to music of various genres, from folk through jazz to big beat.

Families with children will appreciate a small zoo corner with a live donkey and sheep or the largest Nativity scene ever seen in Brno. You can count 67 large wood-carved figures.

Visitors may enjoy a non-traditional souvenir on Brno Square of Freedom thanks to its new clock. The clockwork usually lets out a small glass ball onto which the city sign is ground at 11 a.m. every day; the ball can be caught by anyone who wishes to. During the Advent time, the clockwork will release special balls with Christmas motifs every whole hour from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The market at the central square is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and will last to December 23. But the square will not get empty after that. Some refreshment stalls will be opened till January 1 and will provide drinks and meals during New Year’s Eve celebrations.

For more see www.brnenskevanoce.cz (Czech only).

Map

Larger map

I vote for tree #3.

The rules are “so 1990s” but simple: look at the four trees (1, 2, 3, 4) and then send an e-mail to strom@ticbrno.cz with the number of your favorite tree. I recommend using a Czech subject line “hlasuji pro vanocni strom cislo…”. The deadline is set to November 15.

Attention, hikers! The pages include GPS locations of the trees, so you can find them in forrests around Brno.