Producers of the annual German Christmas Village at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor have received approval to return for four more years.
Baltimore’s Board of Estimates on Wednesday approved a request to amend a license agreement with German American Marketing Inc., producers of the annual market, so it can return to the Inner Harbor. The period of the agreement is from Jan. 1, 2026 to Dec. 31, 2029, which includes the Christmas seasons in 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029.
Modeled after Nuremberg’s Christkindlmarkt, Christmas Village in Baltimore has been a popular holiday destination on the West Shore of the Inner Harbor since 2019, typically starting around Thanksgiving and ending before Christmas. It features dozens of vendors, a large ornament tent, a Ferris Wheel, carousel, live music, lights and traditional German food.
“The City and the Licensee, in partnership with the Department of Recreation and Parks, desire to extend this partnership to maintain the production of authentic German Christmas Market events in Baltimore,” stated a written request to the Board of Estimates from Baltimore’s Department of Real Estate, which outlined terms of the license amendment.
The city’s initial agreement with German American Marketing allowed it to occupy part of West Shore Park from Nov. 11 to Dec. 31 of 2019, and gave it five renewal options.
The market was canceled in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the license wasn’t renewed for that year. But the license has been renewed five times since then, from 2021 to 2025, and that used up all the previously-approved renewal options. The only previous amendment to the license agreement came in 2022, the city officials increased the security deposit from $10,000 to $15,000.
The Real Estate Department warned in its request to the Board of Estimates that the license agreement may need to be altered due to the proposed redevelopment of the Harborplace pavilions, located just north of West Shore Park and the Baltimore Visitor Center.
MCB Real Estate has unveiled plans to replace the two pavilions at Pratt and Light streets with a $900 million mixed-use development containing apartments, shops, restaurants, offices and park space.
“The parties acknowledge that West Shore Park may be impacted by the Harborplace redevelopment, currently slated to begin as early as fall 2026,” the Real Estate Department noted. “The City retains the right to relocate the Licensee to an alternative location at any time throughout the term to accommodate these activities.” All other terms and conditions from the previously approved agreement remain in full force and effect, it added.
