Mariazell Christmas Market

The Mariazell Christmas market, the Mariazeller Advent, takes over the Hauptplatz in front of the basilica on five long weekends from 19 November to 20 December 2026. This 26th edition revolves around a suspended Advent wreath 12 m across, craftspeople at work in the Raiffeisensaal and the trains of the Mariazellerbahn climbing up from St. Pölten. The event is billed as Austria’s largest traditional Christmas market.

Mariazell Christmas market 2026: dates and opening hours

The market opens on five weekends and stays closed in between: the opening weekend from 19 to 22 November, then 26 to 29 November, 3 to 8 December, 10 to 13 December and 17 to 20 December 2026. The third weekend is the longest, six days in a row from Thursday 3 to Tuesday 8 December.

From Thursday to Saturday, as well as on Sunday 6 and Monday 7 December, the stalls open from 11am to 7pm. On Sundays and on Tuesday 8 December, they close at 6pm. Food and drink carry on until 8pm, and until 7pm on Sundays and on 8 December. Guided tours of the Adventpfad, the Advent trail, cost €7 per adult and €4 per child aged 6 and over, leaving at 2pm from the Advent wreath.

The 12-metre Advent wreath in front of the basilica

Above the Hauptplatz hangs an Advent wreath 12 m in diameter and weighing 6 tonnes, carrying 24 candles. It is billed as the largest suspended wreath in the world. One candle is lit each day, and the great candle is lit on the four Advent Saturdays at 5pm. Facing the square, Mariazell’s basilica celebrates the Rorate, the dawn Mass, every morning at 6am from the first Sunday of Advent, and lights dress the Bürgeralpe, the mountain above the town, reached by gondola lift.

On Saturday 21 November at 7pm, a Krampus run livens up the Hauptplatz, an Alpine Advent tradition in which St Nicholas’s horned companions parade in costume.

Craftspeople at work, liqueur and gingerbread

The Raiffeisensaal brings together craftspeople at work: woodcarvers, painters and potters make their pieces in front of visitors. For treats, two of the town’s specialities are worth taking home: the Mariazeller Magenlikör liqueur and the gingerbread of the Lebzelterei Pirker.

Getting to Mariazell on the Mariazellerbahn

The narrow-gauge Mariazellerbahn leaves from St. Pölten Hauptbahnhof, on the main western line from Vienna, and climbs to Mariazell station. Two special trains add to the service: the Rorate train on Sunday 13 December, leaving St. Pölten at 3.07am and arriving in Mariazell at 5.22am, in time for the dawn Mass, and the Ötscherbär trains with St Nicholas on board. Traffic restrictions apply in the town on market days, worth knowing if you come by car. Coming from abroad, check timetables with ÖBB.

The country’s other markets are gathered on our page of Christmas markets in Austria, including two major cities to combine with Mariazell.

• The Vienna Christmas market, where the trains to St. Pölten set off.
• The Graz Christmas market, the capital of Styria, Mariazell’s province.