Elburg Christmas Market

In the streets of the fortified town of Elburg, on the Vischmarkt and as far as the Veghenhofplein, the Elburg Christmas market goes by the name of Winter in de Vesting: two evenings, Friday 11 and Saturday 12 December 2026, when the residents dress up as in 1900 and more than 100 stalls fill the Vesting, among braziers, glühwein and hot chocolate. Music, dance and theatre take over the squares, an old-fashioned carousel turns for the children and a real steam train takes them for a ride. Entry is free, and it is the residents who put the festival together.

Winter in de Vesting: Elburg in 1900

The idea fits in one sentence from the official website: the festival is made by the residents. For two evenings, the Vesting, Elburg’s fortified core, goes back to the winter of 1900, with Victorian dresses, paupers, musicians, dancers and actors in the streets. Braziers warm the squares, and the stalls serve hot chocolate and glühwein, the German and Dutch version of mulled wine (see mulled wine and its variants); Elburg’s tourist website adds oliebollen, the doughnuts of December. That same website speaks of “Kerst in de Vesting”; the official name is Winter in de Vesting.

In 2025, the programme opened on Friday 12 December at 4pm with a sailors’ choir, followed by a procession through the streets. Two stages hosted concerts and shows, one on the Vischmarkt, in the bandstand, the other on the Veghenhofplein, and the Elburg museum opened the chapel of its convent. The evening ended at 10pm. The 2026 programme can be found at winterindevesting.nl.

More than 100 stalls, a carousel and a steam train

The organisation’s Markt page announces more than 100 stalls throughout the fortified town (“ruim 100 sfeervolle kramen”). The market hours are given there, Friday from 4pm to 10pm and Saturday from 1pm to 9pm, on a page that covers the 2026 edition. For the children, a zweefmolen, the old-fashioned chain carousel, and a ride on a real steam train. What exactly the stalls sell, crafts, decorations or food, is not detailed.

• Dates: Friday 11 and Saturday 12 December 2026, according to the official website.
• Market hours: Friday 4pm-10pm, Saturday 1pm-9pm, published on the market page, which covers the 2026 edition.
• More than 100 stalls in the Vesting; free entry, voluntary contribution by QR code.
• Paid parking, €7.50 during the festival.
• Nostalgic carousel and steam train for the children.

Getting to Elburg from France

Elburg is mostly reached by car: allow 540 km and about 6h20 from Paris, 324 km and nearly 4 hours from Lille, 592 km and about 6h10 from Strasbourg, without traffic. Paid parking at €7.50 is set up during the festival. By train, the Eurostar links Paris-Nord to Amsterdam Centraal in 3h20, with around ten direct departures a day; the rest of the journey to Elburg combines train and bus, to be planned on the NS journey planner.

On the Friday, the festival only opens at 4pm, which leaves the day for the drive or for another town. The Zwolle Christmas market and the Dickens Festijn in Deventer are in the same part of the country, and, further south, the Toverland park also opens its gates in winter.