This past weekend we went to check out the Sankt Wendel Easter Market! Also known to the Americans as St. Wendel. You may remember that the Sankt Wendel Christmas Market was our favorite Christmas Market so I was excited to go check out the Easter Market. We went to a local so-called Easter Market in Speicher and were under impressed, it was really a flea market which was fine, but don’t call it an Easter Market, LOL! Thankfully Sankt Wendel came through and it was a great experience! While the Easter Market is a little smaller than the Christmas Market it’s still worth a trip to go see.
Driving there was interesting. We were coming from Ramstein and the way it took us the road was closed for construction. Thankfully the good thing about the villages here is that there are 100 ways to each location, so we traveled a few streets over, made a few turns, and were able to get around the closed road to continue on our way. We parked in the City Parkhaus like last time, it’ll bring you right up by an ice cream shop, which has yummy ice cream 😉 The bathrooms are also in this area a combo of free port-a-potties and a paid public toilet for €0.50. Parking was €2 for around 2 hours.
This market has many things that make it quality as an Easter Market! The most ionic being the large crown made out of 2000 hand painted eggs and spring flowers! There are also stalls selling cute Easter decor, spring decor, and some selling other stuff like pottery, etc. You’ll even find a few life sized bunny statues around the church.
Another treat you’ll find is the Easter Villages! Those are amazingly ornate and intricate bunny scenes, some with moving parts like a ferris wheel! You call tell there were many hours put into the contraction of each scene. You can’t miss it as it’s in a very colorful tent, which resembles a circus tent. The Easter Village exhibition is free but there is a donation box near the entrance/exit if you’d like to leave a small donation. These villages are made by a local artist and have been done over the last 15 years!
You’ll find this cutie at the entrance, the donation box in inside to the right. It’s a little house with a slit in the top and a sign in German.
These scenes were fun to look at and you can tell the artist spends many hours making sure they are just right.
There are also several kid friendly events during this Easter Market. There were carousel rides for €0.50 in the main area by the crown. They also had a kids section that had face painting, bubble blowing, fake tattoos, and some other free kid stuff. Live bunnies could be seen as well and the white one was HUGE! I swear he was the size of Mac, our Westie! Another area included activities that the kids could participate in. One was making something with a local blacksmith. Choices included a metal cross to a small dagger with prices ranging from €5-9. There was another one where something was cut out of foam & painted. As well as a few more choices of activities as well.
And of course we can’t forget about the food! They have the normal foods like Brats, fries, & ice cream but you’ll find a few other tasty treats here! They had sweet rolls shaped like rabbits. Super cute handmade chocolate animals, from bunnies to owls, & more! They were reasonably price as well. The owl was €6,50. They had small ones ranging from €1 to a huge bunny priced at €22, something for everyone! We also found the most amazing treat ever, chimney cakes! They are €5 each and the most divine treat we’ve found at a market so far! You could even watch them making them and cooking them over the live embers, it was fascinating! We had a cinnamon & sugar one, Yum Yum! We’ll be headed back to the Christmas Market to try the other flavors. They had coconut, sugar, & poppyseed as well.
They are rotated on the spits over the open embers to cook.
They are huge too! The 4 of us shared this one, next time we’ll all probably get our own.
I took a pic of the ‘story’ about them, which I always think is facinating as well.
I’m telling you these chocolates were too stinking cute!
We got some of the smaller ones to sample.
If you happen to be there during the evening there are a few events as well, we were only there for the day events this time. There is a Easter Express mini train that offers rides from 2 pm to 6 pm. Starting at 5 pm the Night watchman will start making his rounds and finish up around 7 pm. So if your there in the evening make sure to check these out.
We stopped at one of the pottery booths and I bought a handmade mug, I’ve been on a tea kick lately and I wanted a mug to make me smile when I drink it, this one sure does! She had quite a few other neat designs as well.
We even got a little extra treat on the drive home when we ran across a grouping of several large sculptures. I got out to take a photo with one because it’s not everyday you stumble across a large foot out in the middle of the german fields. It was on a little road called Sculpturesrasse, I googled it and didn’t find any info about it though.
Overall this was a great Easter Market experience! From the Easter decor to the activities, to the food, it was a great day out for our family. I got feedback on my Facebook page that several who were disappointed with the Trier Easter Market found this one to be worth a visit. I’d recommend it for sure! So if you missed it this year make sure to put it on the calendar for next year, and don’t forget to try a chimney cake!
Have you been to the Sankt Wendel Easter Market? What did you think?
Know Before You Go:
What: Sankt Wendel Easter Market in Sanket Wendel, Germany
How To Get There: It’s about 1 hour 7 minutes from Spangdahlem, 38 mins from Ramstein.
When: Dates will vary by year so make sure to google it for the correct dates & times.
Parking: Is available in the parking garages and is reasonable.
Cost: Varies depending on how much shopping, activities, and eating you want to do.
Traveling with little kids: We went on Saturday and it was not as crowded as the Christmas Market so a stroller would have been OK that day. However inside the Easter Village tent there is not much room so probably no strollers in there. We seen lots of families baby wearing as well.
Dogs: This is a dog friendly market, but please remember to be responsible and pick up after your dog.
I have seen those statues as well. This is what I found on wikipedia.
“Street of Sculptures. In 1971 St. Wendel’s sculptor Leo Kornbrust initiated the International Sculpture Symposium St. Wendel, now well known throughout Europe, which brought forth numerous huge stone sculptures by different international artists. In 1979 the sculptures were arranged along 25 kilometers of the Saarland hiking trail from St. Wendel to Lake Bostal.”