According to a majority of citizens in a survey, Potsdam’s largest Christmas market is to move to a new location. An online survey of almost 7,000 citizens, mostly from Potsdam, between June 10 and July 7, as well as 215 traders, revealed dissatisfaction with the “Blue Lights” Christmas market, the state capital announced.
So far, the lights have been mainly located on Brandenburger Strasse, but almost three quarters of the citizens favored Bassinplatz as the location for a central Christmas market. The majority of the traders surveyed, on the other hand, preferred Brandenburger Strasse – the pedestrian zone. At the same time, however, a majority of traders also wanted the street space in front of their stands to remain free.
More than half want change
According to the city, around one million people visit the Christmas market in the city center every year, and there are other markets as well. The survey was conducted in cooperation with the city’s economic development agency and the HPI School of Design Thinking.
“More than 50 percent of those surveyed found the central Christmas market less or not at all good in the past two years and wanted to see changes,” the state capital said. The desire to move away from blue lighting and to strengthen the Christmas mood and atmosphere became clear – but also for more quality and regionality in the range of products on offer and more non-commercial offers.
Many criticisms due to the location
Many of the criticisms expressed, such as cramped space, blocked shop windows or a lack of seating and rest areas, can be traced back to the location of the Christmas market and the conditions of Brandenburger Strasse as Potsdam’s central shopping street, the statement said.
The survey identified three options for a possible location for the future Christmas market: Bassinplatz as a central and compact Christmas market, Brandenburger Straße with the stalls relocated to the intersection areas and side streets, and the combination of Lustgarten, Alter Markt and Neuer Markt as a decentralized Christmas market.
What happens next
In just over two weeks, the administration will submit a proposal for a fundamental decision on the reorientation of the Christmas market to the city council, it was said. The future location of the Christmas market will also be discussed.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240910-930-228900/1
This is a message directly from the dpa news channel.
