Christmas in Zurich greets its guests as soon as they arrive in the city. The largest indoor Christmas market in Europe is located under the roof of the central station. And every passenger who gets off the train in Zurich these days finds himself in a Christmas fairy tale, instantly being drawn into the merry-go-round merry-go-round of the fair.
Most of the station hall is filled with rows of wooden huts, their counters are full of all kinds of temptations. Souvenirs, clothes, dishes, jewelry - everything is pleasing to the eye. Everything that is difficult to resist: Swiss cheeses, sausages, chocolate are skillfully laid out in front of you in an incredible variety.
You can enjoy marzipans, gutzli cookies and dough figurines - Gritibans. Raclette is also prepared here - a traditional Swiss dish made from melted cheese, in which potatoes or pieces of meat are dipped and eaten with pickled cucumber. The smell of roasted chestnuts overpowers the aroma of hot mulled wine, a traditionally winter drink loved throughout Europe.
But the center of attraction of the fair is its main decoration - the "diamond spruce", a huge spruce in Swarovski crystals, the most beautiful in Switzerland. It is adorned with 6,000 sparkling crystals. Tourists from all over the country come to admire this miracle.
There are also several smaller Christmas markets in Zurich, but with the same set of temptations. The smallest of them, on the Werdmüleplatz square, appeared recently, but its "singing spruce" is already known throughout the city.
A stand in the shape of a spruce, wrapped in spruce branches, was constructed on the square. Twice a day, children in red caps and green robes, looking like gnomes, climb up there and sing hymns, gathering crowds of spectators.
Traditions
It’s hard to believe, but on Christmas days, all serious people in Zurich, bankers, financiers, lawyers, doctors make cookies with their own hands. It is not customary to buy Christmas cookies in stores. But they themselves do not eat it, and it’s easier to believe in it, but beautifully packaged and presented to friends. But they also give them cookies of their own making, so no one is left without Christmas cookies.
One day in December, the Lichterschwimmen festival is held in Zurich. On Lake Zurich and the Limmat River, everyone is willing to let burning candles float, and these moving lights fill everything around with a flickering, mysterious light.
sights
There are more than 50 museums, churches, cathedrals and simply beautiful buildings in Zurich. The panorama of the city can be seen from the side of the Lindenhof quarter. You can visit:
- Grossmünster monastery
- Fraumünster Abbey
- St. Peter's Church
- Kunsthaus - art museum
Zurich is the largest financial center in Switzerland, with banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges and others, with important business people, in the days of Christmas it turns into a fairy tale, he rejoices himself, and knows how to delight his guests.
