Rothenburg Reiterlesmarkt

Rothenburg's Reiterlesmarkt dates to the fifteenth century, among the oldest Christmas markets in Europe, taking its name from the Reiterle, a pre-Christian folklore figure once feared as an otherworldly rider carrying souls of the dead, now softened into a friendly seasonal mascot. Around 61 curated stalls spread across Marktplatz, Grüner Markt, Kirchplatz and the Lichthof am Rathaus within Rothenburg's walled medieval old town.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber's Reiterlesmarkt reaches back to the fifteenth century, giving it a claim to being among the oldest Christmas markets in Europe, with more than five hundred years of largely unchanged historical custom behind its current form; unlike markets that reinvented themselves substantially over the centuries, organisers describe the Reiterlesmarkt as having followed its historical patterns unusually closely.