WinterWelVaart 2024 and Wintergoud: Groningen’s Christmas Market
The Christmas markets in Germany are famous for their craft stalls, gluwein and generally Christmassy atmosphere. I’ve gone to several in past years; the ones in Oldenburg and Bremen aren’t far from my home here in Groningen.
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Though they’re much less well-known, Dutch cities, including Groningen, also run Christmas markets.
Update as of December 17, 2024
WinterWelVaart 2024 has come and gone. With more than last year’s 38,000 attendees (but no one seems to know how many more), it has been pronounced a great success.
The new addition, called Wintergoud (winter gold), continues until January 5, 2025. The epicenter of this winter festival is on the Grote Market where there’s a skating rink, a ferris wheel, a train ride for the kiddies, a giant slide, and 16 “winter chalets,” selling local handcrafts and produce.
Wintergoud takes place daily from 10:00-22:00.
- The ice skating rink is open 10:00-22:00.
- Food and drink stalls are open 10:00-midnight.
- The “winter chalets” selling crafts, etc. are open 11:00-21:00
- The attractions (giant slide, ferris wheel, and several rides for children) are open 11:00-21:00.
Wintergoud is free, but there are fees for the attractions and skating.
WinterWelVaart
Groningen’s Christmas market is called WinterWelVaart, and it adds a unique twist on the usual Christmas market. Instead of holding the market on the central plaza as you’d expect, WinterWelVaart takes place along the most picturesque canals in Groningen: the Lage der A, the Hoge der A and the Kleine der A.
This is a beautiful part of town: historic buildings front the canals, undamaged in the wartime bombing that left its mark on other parts of the city center. Many are former warehouses, identifiable by the vertical line of large doors and the mechanism on the gable that used to be used to lift cargo into and out of the building. (Actually, in many buildings they’re still used, but now that the buildings have been converted into apartments, they’re used to lift furniture in and out instead of struggling with the typically narrow, steep stairways.) Some are rather grand former homes of the wealthier merchants, many of which are now offices or divided into apartments.
Book a room in Groningen so you can relax and enjoy the market, walking “home” afterwards! The closest one is the 3.5-star Hotel Miss Blanche, right around the corner.
For WinterWelVaart, you’ll find the usual Christmas market stalls on the canal (and extending the center of town starting in 2024), though the proportion of crafts to food and drink stalls is different than in Germany. The German markets have far more food and drink on offer, perhaps as many as 40 or 50 percent of the stalls, I’d guess. Here I don’t think it’s more than about 20 percent.
If you’re going to be in Groningen, take a look at my walking tour of the city. Also, there’s plenty to see in the Groningen area all year round. Read my article on 40+ things to see and do in Groningen province!
What makes WinterWelVaart special
The twist, though—what makes this market different and special—is that the canal itself is lined with moored historical ships. Most of these originally sailed the canals as cargo ships, but have been converted to other uses since then.
For WinterWelVaart visitors, the ships are available to board and explore. Many, for the duration of the fair—only three days—become venues for all sorts of activities: musical performances, art exhibits, and story telling, to name the most common. Never mind exploring all the craft stalls; it would be easy to spend hours hopping from one ship to the next, enjoying the coziness and the entertainment.
Looking back at WinterWelVaart 2024
This year’s WinterWelVaart was bigger than ever. There were market stalls as usual on the Hoge der A (the side of the canal nearer the center of town), but the WinterWelVaart market extended along some of our prettiest streets all the way to the Grote Markt, the central square of the city, linking it to the Wintergoud offerings. There were no market stalls on the Lage der A (the opposite side of the canal).
Unfortunately there were fewer ships this year compared to 2023 because a temporary bridge – set up while the original is being repaired – blocked some of the places they would have moored. There were still some, though, on the Lage der A, the Kleine der A, the Pottebakkersrijge and the Sluiskade. They were prettily lit-up, and some hosted performances or art exhibits of various sorts. Some were open to tour.
There were a range of performances associated with WinterWelVaart – music, theater, art and lectures of various sorts – in the Museum aan de A (Brugstraat 24), the Akerk (the old church at Akerkhof 2), the Aa-Theater (Akerkstraat 11) and Podium Pomphuis (Kleine der A 7). Over the same weekend as WinterWelVaart, 24 artists’ ateliers were open in the same area as where the ships moor.
Wintergoud: new in 2024
Wintergoud (which translates as “winter gold”) is new this year, and makes the Christmassy atmosphere of WinterWelVaart last longer. For a month, the central market square, called the Grote Markt, hosts a small German-style Christmas market as well as a huge Ferris wheel, a giant slide, and various rides for children. It also has a skating rink and 16 German-style “chalets” selling food or various crafts. Often there are various musical groups performing among the trees at one end of the square.
Ships? In Groningen?
You might be wondering, if you have ever spotted Groningen on a map of the Netherlands, why a maritime theme was chosen for the Christmas market here. It’s not on a coast, after all. It was, however, one of the Hanseatic League cities. Later it became a very important center of trade in peat, the dominant fuel in the 16th and 17th century.
Transporting cargo all over the Netherlands happened primarily by canal until the mid-20th century, and it’s still common to see long, low cargo ships passing on Holland’s canals serving domestic shipping needs. The truth is, though, that most of the ships at WinterWelVaart are not as old as the peat trade: most stem from the early 20th century. The event is organized in part by the local maritime museum as an easy introduction to Groningen’s maritime history.
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The meaning of WinterWelVaart
WinterWelVaart is a great word for this event. Welvaart means “prosperity,” so it can be translated as “Winter Prosperity.” To take the name apart further, the word vaart can mean “canal,” and it can mean “speed.” So another translation could be something like “winter good speed,” meaning “traveling well” or “good journey”. That fits nicely with the nautical theme: it’s about a good journey through winter, starting with this market for Christmas.
WinterWelVaart happens every year just before Christmas and, in theory, it will continue to do so as part of Wintergoud. Their website is in Dutch, so use a translation app.
My travel recommendations
Planning travel
- Skyscanner is where I always start my flight searches.
- Booking.com is the company I use most for finding accommodations. If you prefer, Expedia offers more or less the same.
- Discover Cars offers an easy way to compare prices from all of the major car-rental companies in one place.
- Use Viator or GetYourGuide to find walking tours, day tours, airport pickups, city cards, tickets and whatever else you need at your destination.
- Bookmundi is great when you’re looking for a longer tour of a few days to a few weeks, private or with a group, pretty much anywhere in the world. Lots of different tour companies list their tours here, so you can comparison shop.
- GetTransfer is the place to book your airport-to-hotel transfers (and vice-versa). It’s so reassuring to have this all set up and paid for ahead of time, rather than having to make decisions after a long, tiring flight!
- Buy a GoCity Pass when you’re planning to do a lot of sightseeing on a city trip. It can save you a lot on admissions to museums and other attractions in big cities like New York and Amsterdam.
Other travel-related items
- It’s really awkward to have to rely on WIFI when you travel overseas. I’ve tried several e-sim cards, and GigSky’s e-sim was the one that was easiest to activate and use. You buy it through their app and activate it when you need it. Use the code RACHEL10 to get a 10% discount!
- Another option I just recently tried for the first time is a portable wifi modem by WifiCandy. It supports up to 8 devices and you just carry it along in your pocket or bag! If you’re traveling with a family or group, it might end up cheaper to use than an e-sim. Use the code RACHELSRUMINATIONS for a 10% discount.
- I’m a fan of SCOTTeVEST’s jackets and vests because when I wear one, I don’t have to carry a handbag. I feel like all my stuff is safer when I travel because it’s in inside pockets close to my body.
- I use ExpressVPN on my phone and laptop when I travel. It keeps me safe from hackers when I use public or hotel wifi.
Rachel Heller is a writer living in Groningen, the Netherlands. She is the owner and primary author of this website, Rachel’s Ruminations, a travel blog focused on independent travel with an emphasis on cultural and historical sites/sights. Read more here about her and about this website. All photos in her articles are her own, unless otherwise specified. Rachel also owns and operates a website about UNESCO site travel.
WinterWelVaart looks like a wonderful place to visit. I think one could easily wander there for hours, not only to look at the markets, but the boats and the buildings. I really think I should go to Europe next Christmas! The whole winter Christmas is so appealing here in summer Australia. Enjoy the rest of your week. I was happy to meet you here today at Travel Photo Thursday.
A Christmas market trip would be so much fun! Take public transportation so you can drink gluwein! Check out this pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/santafetraveler/christmas-markets-in-europe/ It’s all about Christmas markets!
This is the most interesting Christmas Market I’ve heard of. The fact that it was along the canal was enough for me, but being able to view the ships and their exhibits. I would go each of the three days just to board a different ship and experience them all. Fantastic Rachel.
Go for it! I’ll be there tonight! Last year I didn’t stay for many of the shows in the boats, partly because the most popular ones were so crowded that I got a bit claustrophobic. But between shows you can also just explore the ship itself, which is interesting too!
Rachel, what a great surprise! Like you mentioned, this market is very unique (have not heard of something similar before). I like that you can get on the boats. Who owns the ships? What kind of “entertainment” is available inside the ships?
The boats are mostly privately-owned and used for things like charter sailing, events or bed and breakfasts. The entertainment is mostly music, from rock bands to sea chantey choruses!
Hi Rachel. What a great idea for a Christmas market! Being from Halifax, on the North Atlantic, is definitely one of the reasons it’s so appealing. The navy ships are always lit up in our harbour, and so pretty. I’d be with Jan for the full 3 nights, hopping from ship to ship!
Maybe that’s why it appealed to me so much: I grew up on the coast (of Connecticut) too!