A Market With Matt
We snuck away on a Saturday in the late afternoon, or rather the kids rolled their eyes at the thought of another Christmas market and I jumped at the opportunity to go with just Matt. The Lienzingen Market is a tiny little one about an hour away on the way to Bad Wimpfen, and thinking about it now we can combine our visits to the two markets for next year.
Lienzingen itself is a tiny little town that stood in the way of getting to the bigger medieval city of Bad Wimpfen so it has a storied and bloody history. The fortifications around St. Peter’s church date from the 13th century and served as major storage chambers for when the area was sieged again and again as opposing sides battled for control of the nearby wealthy Maulbronn Monastery. These storage chambers were originally multistoried and almost as high as the church itself. On the roof of the church you can still see niches that were inhabited by residents during times of retreat.
This tight circle of buildings right around the church is the setting for the medieval market that was filled with locals, great food, and beautiful handmade items. When we first arrived, St. Nicolas was handing out beautifully wrapped gifts to the children. Villagers that were dressed in medieval period clothes gathered together to sing and led a drum line around the market for a long performance that made the whole atmosphere come alive. I loved the fire torches and seeing families gathered around open fires to cook their own Stickbrot. There were also several local children carrying baskets of handmade ornaments of walnut shells to sell to raise funds for the local school.
Blurry, but I love it! These ladies were moving fast and the drums were so loud. I loved seeing that they were having so much fun.
Leeks and cheese on the best bread ever, cooked over a fire.
We definitely felt like outsiders but it was so fun to see a true, local market in such a unique setting. I only wish that the church building had been open for a peak inside. I liked this one enough that I’d love to go back with the kids next year.
