Christmas in Wolfsberg

To find out what´s happening in Wolfsberg this year before and at Christmas time, I was able to ask mayor Hannes Primus and council alderman Christian Stückler. I thank them for the detailed information, which I have included in the following text.

I find Wolfsberg particularly atmospheric during the Advent and Christmas season, mainly

because of the Christmas lights that the city council has been renting in a kind of leasing contract for a number of years now. It includes maintenance, storage, safety, installation and removal and it is also possible to change the lighting after a certain period of time. A stroll through the city center in the later hours is very special in the time before Christmas thanks to the lights.

The many decorated trees that are made available to shopkeepers by the city council also add greatly to the atmosphere. Opposite the town hall there is also a large tree decorated with lights, which was donated by the housing community of Stadionbadstrasse this year. There are potted Christmas trees on Hoher Platz square, which also decorate the KuKuMa, the market that takes place there every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. To 12:00 noon. A stroll across Hoher Platz square and through Sporergasse is accompanied by Christmas sounds and many great offers from the Advent calendar of the “Werbegemeinschaft” member stores can still be used in some cases. On Friday, December 17th and Saturday, December 18th, the Citybus offers the opportunity to get into town car-free for € 1 per person per day to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere.

A special highlight at Hoher Platz square is the light projection on the facade of the “Alte Post” – a huge, daily changing Advent calendar that distracts from the missing Advent market on the Trattl, one of the most beautiful Advent markets far and wide, which unfortunately cannot take place this year. On the website www.wolfsberg.at, a virtual advent calendar with a potpourri of contributions also shortens the waiting time before Christmas.

This year we were lucky in the Lavant Valley when the first snow fell in early December, even in low elevations. Snowfall is always something special and it doesn´t occur every year. The landscape changes immediately and everything is calmer and slower, although the opposite is the case for the many hardworking people who carry out snow removal services. Plans are put into effect immediately, in which it is determined who leaves when, how and where to, in which order and which streets have priority. In addition to the road maintenance depots and city council vehicles, farmers, the Maschinenring and private individuals are also on the move making roads, parking lots, sidewalks, etc. usable.

When I consciously experienced my first white Christmas in Austria over 30 years ago I was

enchanted. In Australia, where I spent my childhood and adolescence, Santa Claus comes through the fireplace on the morning of December 25th and brings the Christmas presents – and that in midsummer and even though only a few houses have a fireplace. Since my parents are both Austrian born, they celebrate Christmas the traditionally Austrian way and “Christkind” came to us on Christmas Eve. Often my brother and I heard the bell ringing while we were still playing in the pool or in the garden and then went into the house to open our presents, even though it was still bright outside in the evening. I have many fond memories of Christmas in Australia, but experiencing the Advent season and Christmas here in the winter, when it is white outside and dark in the evenings, is something completely different and I still find it enchanting.

The WolfsBlog team wishes you a Merry Christmas!