Wolfgangsee Christmas Market

The Wolfgangsee Christmas market, the Wolfgangseer Advent, brings together three villages on the same lake, St. Wolfgang, St. Gilgen and Strobl, from 20 November to 20 December 2026, Wednesday to Sunday, plus two extra days on 7 and 8 December. A boat links the three markets during Advent, entry is free, and the lake lies in the Salzkammergut, close to Salzburg and Hallstatt.

Wolfgangsee Christmas market 2026: dates and opening hours

The Wolfgangseer Advent opens on Friday 20 November 2026 and closes on Sunday 20 December. The markets run Wednesday to Sunday. Mondays and Tuesdays stay closed, except for Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 December, open from 10am to 7.30pm.

In St. Wolfgang and Strobl, the stalls open on Wednesdays from 1pm to 7.30pm, Thursdays and Fridays from 11am to 7.30pm, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 7.30pm. In St. Gilgen, Wednesday is limited to a reduced offer on the lakeside promenade, from 1pm to 7.30pm, and the other days follow the same timetable. Entry is free in all three villages.

Three villages linked by the Advent boat

The three markets fill the centres of St. Wolfgang, St. Gilgen and Strobl, on the shores of the same lake. The Advent boat links the three villages, and the Schafberg rack railway also runs during Advent. The stalls are run by hotels, inns, bakeries and shops from the three villages, under the shared brand of the Wolfgangsee tourist office, which has organised this Advent for more than twenty years.

Each village has its emblem. Off St. Wolfgang floats a 16 m lantern sheltering the Peace Light, and the village displays the Salzkammergut nativity scene, more than 70 life-size figures. St. Gilgen raises an 11 m candle at the water’s edge and more than 50 large candles in its streets. Strobl presents itself as the village of nativity scenes, beneath a 6 m illuminated comet. In St. Wolfgang, the Weisenbläser, the brass players of Advent, cross the market every evening at nightfall, and the Michael-Pacher-Haus hosts a craft market.

How to get to the Wolfgangsee Christmas market

By train, the main western line leads to Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, from where bus 150 (Bad Ischl, Wolfgangsee) serves St. Gilgen and Strobl. The other option goes via Bad Ischl station, then the same bus 150. St. Wolfgang is reached by bus 546 from the Strobl bus station. Visitors staying in the province of Salzburg and in the region have free buses. Coming from abroad, check train and bus timetables on the ÖBB and Salzburg Verkehr websites before setting off.

The country’s other markets are gathered on our page of Christmas markets in Austria. Two neighbouring markets round off a stay in the Salzkammergut.

• The Salzburg Christmas market, where bus 150 to the lake sets off.
• The Hallstatt Christmas market, a single market day in the same Salzkammergut.