Späth'sche Baumschulen Christmas Market 2026 – Lights in the Fir Forest

Welcome to the Christmas Market at Späth'sche Baumschulen 2026 in Berlin

The Christmas market at Späth'sche Baumschulen 2026 is billed as “Lichterglanz im Tannenwald” (lights in the fir forest) and runs on the first three Advent weekends only: 28–29 November and 5–6 plus 12–13 December, from 11:00 to 20:00 each day. The setting is Germany’s oldest tree nursery, founded in 1720, at Späthstraße 80/81 in Berlin’s Treptow-Köpenick district. It is not a daily city-centre market but six ticketed days among real evergreens, with more than 100 stalls, a courtyard stage, Grimm fairy tales, a light garden at the carp pond and a working Christmas-tree forest.

The nursery itself organises the event. Admission is 8 EUR, or 5 EUR reduced; children up to 16 enter free. The fee supports the historic grounds and doubles as a discount voucher when you buy a Christmas tree. Stage shows, storytelling, the fire performance and wagon rides are then included.

Highlights & Attractions at the Christmas Market at Späth'sche Baumschulen in Berlin

• A walk-through forest of Nordmann firs, pines and spruces where families pick a tree – cut or with root ball – without the rush of a supermarket lot.
• More than 100 stalls: nature workshops, jewellery, ceramics, Ore Mountain crafts, wooden toys, rocking horses, textiles and food.
• Courtyard stage with live bands from show orchestra to small combo, hosted by rbb 88.8 presenter Ingo Hoppe, plus brass under the big fir.
• Children’s Grimm programme: storyteller Ellen Luckas, Hexenkessel Hoftheater and performances in the Black Barn (Schwarze Scheune).
• A new light garden in the “Franz sein Garten” biotope by the carp pond, with a winter herb garden and Nordic specialities.
• Evening “Flammenrausch” fire show, campfires, stove hearths, horse-drawn wagon rides, Santa and an angel on the grounds.
• Drinks with a point of view: Thuringian fruit mulled wine in several flavours, winemaker Glühwein, Swedish glögg, kids’ punch, hot chocolate and a Christmas bakery.

Program & Schedule: What to Expect in 2026

The market runs Saturday and Sunday on those three Advent weekends only – not on weekdays. Midweek in November you can still buy plants and trees, but you will not find the full Christmas village. On market days, stalls and the craft tent run throughout; fairy tales and wagon rides fill the afternoon; concerts and the fire show take the evening until 20:00. The detailed 2026 timetable is usually posted in November at spaethsche-baumschulen.de; last season put storytelling in the afternoon and the main stage later in the day.

The mood is deliberately quieter than Alexanderplatz or Gendarmenmarkt: historic courtyard, packing hall, barns, a pond and a real conifer forest. Hexenkessel Hoftheater brings Grimm tales outdoors on the large stage; Ellen Luckas tells stories with music; a mobile shadow theatre presents “7 Metamorphosen”. A handmade nativity, Santa and the angel keep it family-friendly without turning the nursery into a theme park. In November 2026 the same Black Barn also hosts the Long Night of Fairy-Tale Telling for Berlin’s Märchentage – a related but separate event on the site.

The fir forest: buying a Christmas tree at Späth in Berlin

The tree forest is the reason this market exists. Nordmann firs, pines, red spruce, blue spruce and Serbian spruce stand in rows as cut trees, with root-ball dwarf conifers and rarities beside them. Tree sales begin in November 2026 and continue outside market days; a market ticket is credited as a discount on the tree. If you only want a tree, you do not have to pay market admission – if you want both, come on a market weekend and use the voucher.

Courtyard, packing hall and 100 stalls at Späth'sche Baumschulen

The historic courtyard and packing hall hold the decorated stalls: crafts, natural goods, Ore Mountain wood, ceramics, paper art, clothing and gifts a notch above generic market stock. The courtyard stage mixes pop, brass, soul, jazz and carols. Under the big fir, brass groups such as a Santa horn quartet and a Berlin brass trio are announced by the organisers. Campfires and small stoves invite you to stay – keep the coat on, but do not treat the site as a walk-through.

Light garden at the carp pond in Berlin-Baumschulenweg

New and heavily billed for 2026 is the light garden in the “Franz sein Garten” biotope at the carp pond. Festive lighting, winter herbs and Nordic food add a quieter water-and-garden scene to the fir forest. When the fire show starts in the courtyard, the pond is the place for photos and a pause. It is inside the paid grounds, not a second ticket.

Black Barn, Blue Fairy-Tale Hut and Grimm in Berlin

The Black Barn is the nursery’s story hall: Monbijou Theatre and related ensembles play Grimm for children and adults; Ellen Luckas performs with accordion and song. The Blue Fairy-Tale Hut and a heated craft tent (all-day last season) give small children a warm fallback. Horse-drawn wagons tour the lit grounds. All of this is included in admission – queues at the barns are normal on Sunday afternoons.

Köpenick Palace Christmas Market – the baroque neighbour

About 20 minutes further east, Köpenick’s old town and palace island host a free Christmas market on Schlossplatz (“Köpenick – the Christmas island”), with baroque façades, cobbles and a stollen cutting led by the Captain of Köpenick. Exact 2026 dates were not yet on berlin.de in September 2026; in 2025 it was the third Advent weekend. If you visit Späth on 12 or 13 December 2026, Köpenick is a logical add-on – reconfirm closer to the date.

Altglienicke Advent market and Treptow-Köpenick neighbours

The same borough holds smaller, usually free neighbourhood markets: Altglienicke Advent market near the S-Bahn, the lights market at Christuskirche Oberschöneweide (traditionally the Saturday before Advent), Bölschestraße in Friedrichshagen and Wintertraum in Niederschöneweide. Many 2026 dates were still unpublished in mid-September. The indoor “Oberschöne Weihnachtsmarkt” in Schöneweide was even at risk in 2026 while SchöneVibes Kollektiv hunted for a new hall – treat it as unconfirmed, not as a fixed plan.

Späths Gasthaus and the nursery between market days

Späths guesthouse keeps serving regional food on the grounds whether or not the market is on. On Advent weekdays the plant shop remains the main reason to come (typically daily into late November, then shorter winter hours – check the nursery site). That split is useful: collect the tree midweek, spend one Advent weekend on the full “lights in the fir forest” programme, and avoid paying market admission twice for the same tree.

Tickets & Admission for the Christmas Market at Späth'sche Baumschulen Berlin

This is a paid market. Adults pay 8 EUR; reduced tickets are 5 EUR (pupils, students and trainees up to 28, plus visitors with a severe-disability pass). Children up to 16 enter free. The ticket funds the historic site, works as a Christmas-tree discount voucher, and then covers stage, fairy tales, fire show, light garden and wagon rides. Other Späth festivals often take cash only at the gate and offer QR e-tickets on site – for the 2026 Christmas market check the official page; a dedicated web shop was not listed there in September 2026. Food and drink (fruit mulled wine, glögg, snacks) are extra. There is no multi-weekend pass; each Advent weekend needs a new ticket.

Visitor Tips: Travel & Accommodation in Berlin

• Getting there: S-Bahn Baumschulenweg, then bus 170 or 265 to Baumschulenstraße/Königsheideweg; or U7 Blaschkoallee plus bus 170. By car take the A113, Späthstraße exit, and the large car park on Ligusterweg. Entrances are on Ligusterweg, Späthstraße and Königsheideweg. Public transport is calmer than the car park on Advent Sundays.
• Weather and clothing: Open nursery park, pond-side, little wind shelter. Waterproof shoes, warm soles for standing at the stage, a hat. The craft tent and barns are the warm islands for children.
• Where to stay: The site is in Berlin-Baumschulenweg/Späthsfelde, not Mitte. Nearby options include Winzer-Haus Berlin (Späthsfelder Weg 28) and Hotel Pension Claudia (Späthsfelder Weg 44). For a classic capital night, sleep in Treptow, Neukölln or Mitte and treat the market as a half-day trip – about 20–30 minutes by S-Bahn from the centre plus the bus.
• Timing: Saturday at 11:00 is quieter than Sunday afternoon. Come after lunch for tales and tree shopping; stay until 19:00–20:00 for concerts and the fire show. The market is closed between the three weekends.
• Combine: On the third Advent weekend add Köpenick Palace and the old town; on the first weekend stay at Späth and take a tree home. Skip the barns with large groups or dogs; the fir forest itself is more spacious.