Bratislava Christmas is coming: the Christmas tree was lit last Friday

The Christmas markets on the Main and Hviezdoslav Square in Bratislava was officially opened at 6:00 p.m. last Friday, 24 November 2023. and will continue until New Year's Eve, with a short break during the Christmas holidays (24-26 December). Over and above the Christmas spirit, they will bring a rich cultural programme to Bratislava and draw attention to vulnerable groups of the population.

The official opening of Bratislava Christmas took place exactly one month before Christmas Eve. "All residents, as well as visitors to the city, were welcome to light up the Christmas tree on the Main Square and to spread the Christmas spirit at the Main and Old Town Christmas Markets," says Katarína Hulíková, Director of Bratislava Cultural and Information Centre (BKIS), which is the main organiser of Bratislava Christmas. The Bratislava Hot Serenaders Orchestra and the Bratislava Children's Choir performed on the Main Square on Friday.

"The Christmas markets in Bratislava have been opened once again, one month before Christmas Eve, the Christmas tree as the main symbol of Christmas has been illuminated, and we can enjoy the festive season together. The impending Christmas spirit is already in the air. I would like to welcome you to stop by our Bratislava stall on Franciscan Square in addition to the rich offer of this year's markets. I hope you will find your pre-Christmas oasis of peace and joy in the city centre. Christmas is all about closeness, so let us be more mindful of those who need our help. Merry Bratislava Christmas to you all," says Mayor Vallo, who attended the opening ceremony together with Matej Vagač, the Old Town Mayor. The host of the event was Kristína Tormová, with the opening speech interpreted into Slovak sign language. The tree-lighting ceremony and the programme was also broadcast on a screen on Hviezdoslav Square.

Cultural programme throughout the city

You can enjoy the Christmas spirit in both the city centre and the city districts. Christmas markets featuring a cultural programme are organised in Devínská Nová Ves, Dúbravka, Lamač, Petržalka and Rusovce. Čunovo invites you to a Christmas punch under a fir tree, Rača organises a Christmas concert, in Vrakuňa you can visit a pre-Christmas festival of handmade crafts, and in Karlova Ves and Záhorská Bystrica an Advent wreath will be lit. A St Nicholas programme will be held in Jarovce, Vajnory, Ružinov, Podunajské Biskupice, Devín and Nové Mesto. The Old Town is developing the concept of a Family Zone on Hviezdoslav Square, which will be a safe and creative place for all families with children. City and partner organisations are also involved in the Bratislava Christmas activities. The Bratislava City Museum invites you to enjoy the view of Bratislava Christmas from the tower of the Old Town Hall, the Bratislava City Gallery to attend a pre-Christmas linocut workshop, the City Monuments Conservation Institute to participate in an international film festival on archaeology. Bratislava Zoo is organising a winter market in December, Bratislava City Library is holding a solidarity party, and the P. O. Hviezdoslav Theatre will premiere the Pozsony Dance Club play during the Bratislava Christmas Festival. The Old Market Hall is once again organising a Christmas Market with Slovenská sporiteľňa bank and a Christmas edition of the Street Food Park. You can also look forward to free ice skating at the Winter Stadium on selected weekends thanks to the Sports and Recreation Facilities Administration.

Contactless payments to help seniors

This year, Slovenská sporiteľňa brings the GoodPay service to the Christmas markets, which allows every visitor to make contactless payments conveniently and securely and at the same time contribute to a good cause. For every 20,000 contactless payments at the Main and Old Town Christmas Markets, the Slovenská sporiteľna Foundation will donate €10,000 to the MEMORY Centre, which helps people with memory disorders and Alzheimer's disease. "The Slovenská sporiteľna Foundation wants to contribute to the Christmas markets having a charitable dimension in addition to the festive atmosphere and exceptional cultural and gastronomic experiences. We have, therefore, decided to once again encourage visitors to make practical contactless payments. Based on the number of payments, we will support the unique centre in Bratislava, which helps patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia or other types of memory disorders on a daily basis," says Barbara Henterová, Manager of the Slovenská sporiteľna Foundation.

The MEMORY Centre focuses on the early and specialised diagnosis of memory, orientation, attention, speech and other cognitive impairments. It doesn’t just work with patients, but it also secures family support, prevention, and education for professionals and the public. In addition to medical outpatient clinics, the Centre operates a specialist outpatient facility for people with Alzheimer's disease. Its main focus is on the non-pharmacological treatment of memory disorders, mainly in the form of memory-training. "We are often contacted by patients from all over Slovakia, as we are the only facility of its kind in Slovakia with our qualified team," explains Zuzana Habalová, the Centre’s Director, and adds: "The money from the foundation will significantly help us improve our services for the clients of our specialised facility, who will receive new relaxing chairs, as well as for the clients of our outpatient clinics, by paying for speech therapy interventions specialists."

More opportunities to help at the Bratislava Christmas

There will be a collection of sleeping bags and gifts for the clients of OZ Vagus during the Bratislava Christmas. You can drop them off during the market opening hours (10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.) at one of the two sorting stations on the Main Square. Although bottled beverages are not on offer at the Christmas market, you can help the homeless by handing in your spare packages. You can either leave them at the sorting stations or deposit them in the seven special containers located around the Main and Old Town Christmas Markets. The proceeds will go to the Depaul non-profit organisation.

Bratislava sweatshirts and wooden Christmas decorations

In addition to the traditional offer of Christmas food and beverages, the Main Christmas Market features stalls of civic associations and city organisations such as DPOH and Bratislava ZOO. The Centre for Folk Art Production's stall will host masters of folk-art production with an offer of gingerbread cookies, wooden toys, wire products and ceramics. There will be a Bratislava Christmas stall open during the ongoing programme at the Franciscan Square, offering popular Bratislava sweatshirts, mugs from the Bratislava Icons edition and mobile phone bags made from the city's event banners. There will also be replicas of the wooden Christmas decorations that adorn the Christmas tree on Main Square available, as well as books by local authors, which will be read on Fridays and Saturdays on Franciscan Square.

All important information about the Christmas markets and the programme can be found at Bratislavské VIANOCE ↗︎.

The Bratislava Cultural and Information Centre (BKIS) is the city’s contributory organisation that implements and dramaturgically covers important city-wide cultural and social events (Bratislava Christmas, Bratislava City Days, Bratislava Cultural Summer, etc.). It creates the conditions for organising cultural events through open calls. BKIS also covers the oldest Tourism Guide Training Course in Slovakia, devoted to Bratislava. It organises a series of thematic guided walks, the Rendezvous with the City, and makes a podcast of the same name. It manages the Klarisky concert and exhibition hall and is responsible for restoration of the former Zora cinema and other premises on Biela 6.