Dozens of independent labels, designers and small producers come together at the WeihnachtsQuartier to showcase and sell their wares. And all in time for Christmas shopping.
- Art, fashion, food, jewellery, accessories, and more
- High quality and great for gifts
- New location in the Urania
- Free entry
- 2024 dates: Nov 29 – Dec 1
- Book a concert experience* for your Vienna trip
- See also:
Design at Christmas
(The entrance at the previous MQ location. The 2025 event moves to the Urania; press photo © FOTOFALLY)
If you take around a hundred independent labels and designers and give them space to display and sell their work, then you’ve pretty much described the WeihnachtsQuartier. Consider it a “Christmas” design exhibition with sales, where the Christmas part refers more to the timing than the content.
Typically held over the first weekend of the Advent season, the event offers a chance to pick out something different that wasn’t mass produced or advertised by an unnaturally slim model on TV.
Both the quality (excellent) and diversity (ditto) of the products for sale impressed me on my visit. Everything from specialist mustards to handmade baby shoes: we got a lot of Christmas shopping done here.
Exhibitors had to convince a jury of their worthiness, which eliminated any possibility of the event becoming a junk-filled free-for-all.
Expect a wide range of products and materials: from leather handbags to Limoges-style porcelain, beeswax cloths to body butters…jewellery to jams.
And don’t think of this as some high-nosed design fair, either. The atmosphere as I walked around was casual and friendly.
(Typical view of the market & exhibition space © weihnachtsquartier.at / photo: Monika Saulich)
Most of the designers at the event were local to Austria, so add central European flair to the list of product qualities.
In fact, you can often speak to the designers themselves if you want to learn more about what you’re buying. And all those we spoke to seemed very forthcoming and friendly.
Dates, tickets & tips
Well, the good news is the event is free, so no tickets are required. The next edition takes place from November 29th to December 1st, 2024.
The event has new organisers this year, so I will revisit to check if anything has changed. Keep an eye on the official website for the latest details on the 2024 event.
Other short-term design markets typically found in Vienna around Advent include WAMP and Edelstoff. And don’t forget all those Christmas markets, of course, with their arts and crafts stalls: the Art Advent market on Karlsplatz square is a top tip for unique design.
How to get to the design market
The location has moved from the MuseumsQuartier to the central Urania: a place of prestige and history. Check that link for travel tips: the building lies on the banks of the Donaukanal arm of the Danube in the city centre.
Address: Urania Straße 1, 1010 Vienna