San Francisco Frontiers - German Christmas market opens year after deadly car attack

Guarded by armed police and concrete barricades painted in festive green and red, locals braved the cold and drizzling rain, determined to enjoy the holiday atmosphere, snack and sip mulled wine.

No grand ceremony marked the "silent opening" at 11:00 am, which came as the high-security trial continues nearby over the December 20, 2024 attack that plunged the historic city centre into a scene of bloody carnage.

Saudi man Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, 51, is accused of steering a rented SUV through the crowd in an attack inspired by a mix of personal grievances, far-right and anti-Islam views.

A year on, locals and visitors tried to enjoy the market, rows of wooden stalls with with a huge Christmas tree at its centre, despite the dark memories and the heavy security.

"I think it spoils the feel of the Christmas market a bit," said Magdeburg local Monika Hartmann, 68.

"But it has to be this way, otherwise the Christmas market wouldn't take place. We must accept it and come to terms with it. I'm trying not to take notice."

- 'Like a fortress' -

Christmas markets are a beloved tradition in Germany, with nearly every small town boasting its own, where merchants peddle gifts, hot mulled wine, sausages and sweets.

But the mounting costs and complexity of ensuring security after the 2024 attack in Magdeburg, and a 2016 truck rampage in Berlin, have cast some of the markets into doubt, and even the Magdeburg event only received clearance this week.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said days ago that he hoped for agreement on a set of "common standards" across the country for Christmas market security.

In Magdeburg, many people think the site "looks like a fortress", acknowledged city mayor Simone Borris.

"But I believe that people who have been looking forward to the Christmas markets will especially go now, because we don't want to let our traditions be taken away from us, and certainly not by... the attack and what followed."

Inside the market, an amusement ride played pop versions of classic Christmas tunes on a stereo, and vendors began loading grills with sausages, frying potato pancakes and stewing large vats of kale.

Magdeburg residents Regina Fierich and Edwin Brade donned Irish-style hats from a new mulled wine stand and were thrilled to be soaking in the advent atmosphere.

"Great. Simply wonderful," Brade told AFP while wandering the market. "A joy that it's been opened up."

- 'Never forgotten' -

Fierich, 71, acknowledged that the new security measures were "probably necessary" but told AFP that she did not enjoy "feeling so boxed-in" by the new layout and added barricades.

"Every sporting event doesn't have such a tight security setup as this -- just because of one crazy person," added Brade, 70.

Joerg Stangenberg, 57, said he initially planned to be at the market on the day of the attack last year, adding: "Well, it's a good thing that I didn't."

He said people remain shaken by what happened last year -- "it really gets to you" -- but he wished this year's market had gone ahead without nearly as much debate over security.

"They should have just said, 'We'll have the Christmas market as usual, and security as normal', and that would have been perfectly sufficient," said Stangenberg.

At one entrance to the market, flowers and candles circled a series of plaques, remembering each of those killed.

Borris said survivors and those who responded to the attack were invited to gather in the square before the market opened.

"They saw and experienced a great deal that evening and will likely never forget it," she said. "Everyone processes it in their own way, but I believe it will never be forgotten."

X.White--SFF