Below the starlight, a Christmas market emerges within the coronary heart of a mountainous valley, gracefully extending on the foot of an impressive railway viaduct. As evening falls, the Christmas lights remodel this place into a real enchantment. And when snowflakes dance delicately, the gorges bear a winter metamorphosis worthy of a fairy story panorama. It’s my delight invite you to uncover the Ravenna Gorge Christmas market, nestled within the coronary heart of Germany’s Black Forest.
🎦 Watch our brief video on Christmas in Germany, which can encourage you to discover this lovely nation in Europe for the vacations ⤵

In regards to the Ravenna Gorge Christmas Market
The German identify for the Ravenna Gorge Christmas Market is Weihnachtsmarkt in der Ravennaschlucht.
The Christmas market is a latest creation. Its first version occurred in 2010, and it shortly grew to become successful. Its fame has unfold far past the Black Forest, and guests from France and Switzerland are coming in ever higher numbers. After a two-year hiatus through the pandemic disaster (2020-2021), the market is again in 2023 for its twelfth version.
A Extremely Romantic Christmas Market
The Ravenna Gorge Christmas market is about in opposition to a dreamlike backdrop of a hamlet adorned with small picket huts. The market captivates guests with over 40 stalls providing the best craftsmanship, distinctive reward concepts, and regional merchandise. Friends may also immerse themselves in conventional crafts whereas a various vary of meals and drinks caters to each palate.
A Fairy-tale Setting
The Christmas market is about in a novel surroundings: the steep, wooded hills of the Ravenna Gorge, the Galgenbühl hill close to the Hofgut Sternen inn and the 40-metre-high Höllentalbahn railway viaduct.
Within the mysterious aura of Ravenna Gorge, someplace between peaceable silence and eerie wildness, the Christmas market within the Ravenna Gorge unfolds.
![Ravennaschlucht Viaduc 03 © Andreas Schwarzkopf - licence [CC BY-SA 3.0] from Wikimedia Commons Ravennaschlucht Viaduc © Andreas Schwarzkopf - licence [CC BY-SA 3.0] from Wikimedia Commons](https://frenchmoments.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Ravennaschlucht-Viaduc-03-©-Andreas-Schwarzkopf-licence-CC-BY-SA-3.0-from-Wikimedia-Commons-scaled.jpg)
Ravennaschlucht Viaduc and the Christmas market © Andreas Schwarzkopf – licence [CC BY-SA 3.0] from Wikimedia Commons
The stalls
The meticulous collection of artisanal treasures that adorn the Christmas market focuses on regional authenticity. Artisans, proud representatives of the native terroir, unveil creations that seize the very essence of native craftsmanship.
Every bit, meticulously crafted by hand, tells a story of dedication and dedication, requiring the valuable time of expert fingers. This strategy transcends the easy act of supporting Black Forest artisans; it’s a guardian of regional traditions, a passionate transmission of heritage.
The music
The music that fills the market’s air originates from the joyful melodies of native artists. These musicians, deftly wielding conventional devices resonant with the area’s soul, transport guests into an immersive musical expertise infused with the preserved echoes of native customs.
Meals and beverage
All meals and beverage stalls hail from the Black Forest and primarily use regional merchandise. The Christmas market organizers additionally be certain that culinary specialties corresponding to trout, Black Forest ham, farm merchandise, and regional schnapps are built-in into the product vary. Furthermore, the menu is repeatedly complemented with plant-based options.
A lantern-lit stroll to the Christmas market
If you wish to stroll to the Christmas village, you’ll be able to participate in lantern and torch-lit walks via the Ravenna Gorge. Skilled guides lead the lantern hike via the Spoon Valley, recounting mysterious legends. The place to begin is the Kurhaus in Hinterzarten.
For extra details about the Ravenna Gorge Christmas market, take a look at the occasion’s official web site.
The Höllental: A Pure and Historic Valley
Past the Christmas market, the Ravennaschlucht is a vital pure and historic web site within the Black Forest.
The Ravenna Christmas Market is positioned within the centre of the Höllental, a deeply incised valley, partly much like a gorge, therefore the identify “Ravenna“, which comes from the French “la ravine“.
The Hell Valley
Höllental means the valley of hell.
The Rotbach (known as initially the Höllenbach – the stream of hell) runs via the valley.
Thankfully, the Ravenna Gorge Christmas market sheds mild on this gloomily named web site.
A Valley within the southern Black Forest
The Höllental stretches round 9 kilometres between Hinterzarten and Buchenbach – Himmelreich, within the southern Black Forest, round twenty kilometres east of Freiburg im Breisgau.
The picture under present the positioning of the Christmas market in daylight, with the hamlet shaped by the Hofgut Sternen Inn.

The Ravennaschlucht. Supply: Depositphotos.com
The Höllentalbahn: A Scenic Railway
The Höllentalbahn is a railway line within the Black Forest connecting the cities of Freiburg im Breisgau and Donaueschingen by way of the Höllental.
The railway has gradients of as much as 57.14‰ within the Himmelreich – Hinterzarten part, making it the steepest railway in Germany.
The Ravenna Bridge is a stone viaduct of 9 arches in-built 1926. On one facet, the viaduct results in the small Ravenna tunnel, 47 metres lengthy.

Ravenna Gorge Christmas Market © Hochschwarzwald Tourismus GmbH
For the report, the bridge was dynamited by the Germans in April 1945, shortly earlier than the top of the Second World Battle. It was rebuilt beneath the supervision of the French occupying forces by 80 German prisoners of struggle from Offenburg.
In the course of the Christmas market, the viaduct is fantastically illuminated, with the lighting altering hourly, from blue to inexperienced, crimson and purple.
A Royal Go to
On the 4th of Might 1770, Marie-Antoinette handed via the Ravenna Gorge on her honeymoon journey from Vienna to Versailles.
At the moment, the gorge was a part of Austrian territory (Additional Austria or Vorderösterreich).
Legend has it that the trail via the valley was transformed right into a highway to permit the convoy to cross. The longer term Queen of France is claimed to have stopped on the Hofgut Sternen Inn.
Later, in 1779, the celebrated German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe spent the evening right here.
From Hinterzarten (Germany) to Eguisheim (France)
The neighbouring village of Hinterzarten is a famend mountain spa.
With the attractive bulbous steeple of its Maria in der Zarten church and its ski jumps, Hinterzarten has been twinned with Eguisheim, an Alsatian village well-known for its Christmas market, since 1969.

Christmas in Eguisheim © French Moments

Ravenna Gorge Christmas Market: What it’s good to know
Listed below are some sensible data and tricks to plan your go to to the Ravenna Gorge Christmas Market.
Suggestions concerning the Ravenna Gorge Christmas Market
This Christmas market is like no different. It would not happen in a public house just like the central sq. of a city or village. To go to, you will must e-book your ticket upfront on-line.
Once you purchase your ticket, you can be provided a time slot of two hours. Based on the market organiser, Hochschwarzwald Tourismus GmbH, this voluntary restriction on customer capability is designed to boost the standard of your keep and keep away from excessively lengthy ready instances.
In 2023, an grownup’s entrance charge is €7.50 (arrival from 4 pm). If you happen to come by automobile, parking prices €8.
The automobile park tackle is: Hofgut Sternen, Höllsteig 76, 79874 Breitnau/Hinterzarten.
Please word that costs are for a time slot of round 2 hours.
e-book your tickets
First choose the automobile park ticket based on availability, then e-book an entry ticket with a time slot appropriate for you and people travelling with you.
There are a number of ticket classes:
- Titisee shuttle bus + admission
- Hinterzarten shuttle +admission
- Freiburg shuttle + admission
- pedestrian entrance with out parking
Click on right here for extra data and to e-book your ticket.
![Ravennaschlucht Viaduc 01 © Andreas Schwarzkopf - licence [CC BY-SA 3.0] from Wikimedia Commons Ravennaschlucht Viaduc © Andreas Schwarzkopf - licence [CC BY-SA 3.0] from Wikimedia Commons](https://frenchmoments.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Ravennaschlucht-Viaduc-01-©-Andreas-Schwarzkopf-licence-CC-BY-SA-3.0-from-Wikimedia-Commons-scaled.jpg)
Ravennaschlucht Viaduc and the Christmas market © Andreas Schwarzkopf – licence [CC BY-SA 3.0] from Wikimedia Commons
The Ravennaschlucht Christmas market welcomes guests each Creation weekend till 9 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and till 8 pm on Sundays.
Make sure that to bundle up, because the local weather can shift unexpectedly, and temperatures plunge quickly after dusk within the Black Forest.
Arriving on the Ravennaschlucht
The Ravennaschlucht web site is positioned alongside the Bundesstraße 31 that crosses the Black Forest between Breisach am Rhein and Lindau by way of Freiburg im Breisgau and Titisee-Neustadt. It’s:
- 10 km from Titisee-Neustadt
- 26 km from Freiburg im Breisgau
- 75 km from Colmar
- 85 km from Mulhouse
- 95 km from Basel
- 110 km from Strasbourg
- 170 km from Stuttgart
- 295 km from Frankfurt
The place to remain close to the Ravenna Gorge at Christmas?
When visiting the Ravenna Gorge Christmas market, choosing appropriate lodging is vital to totally having fun with this enchanting season.
Essentially the most handy (and closest) lodging yow will discover is the Hofgut Sternen, positioned on the very web site of the Christmas market. However as you would possibly count on, it is going to be absolutely booked each Creation weekend.
Alternatively, there are different inns within the area to select from. Particularly, search for lodging in Kirchzarten, Hinterzarten, Breitnau and Titisee-Neustadt.
You too can base your self in Freiburg im Breisgau, which can will let you go to the Christmas market!
Additional south, search for lodging within the Schluchsee area and Sankt Blasien.
If you happen to’re coming from Colmar, Mulhouse or Basel, you’ll be able to journey to the Ravenna Gorge Christmas market with out reserving an evening in a lodge.
To streamline your search, have a look at the interactive map under to find lodgings near the Christmas market and choose the one which most closely fits your wants.

In regards to the illustrations within the article
Normally, many of the images used on this weblog are ours (© French Moments). Nevertheless, for this text, I’ve chosen some images from Depositphotos, a industrial platform that brings authors of high-quality licensed inventory images, graphics, vectors and movies along with appreciative patrons.
Featured picture: Weihnachtsmarkt in der Ravennaschlucht © Hochschwarzwald Tourismus GmbH