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Beautiful photos of Christmas markets around the world

Thomas Lohnes // Getty Images (Getty Images)

Christmas markets are a quintessential holiday tradition in Europe. Countless cities, regardless of size, likely have at least one open-air bazaar that pops up sometime between mid-November and early December to sell holiday tchotchkes and treats.

These advent markets aren't a modern-day invention, either. They've been around for centuries. The first recorded instance dates back to 1298, when vendors in Vienna, Austria, obtained permission to run a December market. Over the next century, these cold-weather fairs increased in popularity, and by 1384 the first Christkindlmarkt opened in Germany.

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A carriage horse waiting at the Christmas Market at the Old Town Square in Prague.
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Aerial view of the Dresden Striezelmarkt.
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People at the Christmas market in Budapest.
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An aerial view of the Christmas Market in Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin.
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A Bavarian brass band plays at the Christmas Market in Munich.
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Christmas lights decorate the market and the City Hall in Vienna.
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People visit the Christmas market in Strasbourg.
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People visit the Christmas market next to the Eiffel Tower.
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Christmas market stall filled with holiday treats in Nuremberg.
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Parent and child shopping for Christmas ornaments at the Hyde Park Christmas market in London.
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People gather at the Christmas arket in Trier.
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Visitors walk through the Christmas market in Rostock.
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Visitors walk through the Christmas market in Cologne.
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Visitors walk through the Christmas market at the Main Square in Krakow.
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Vistors gather at the Salzburg Christmas Market.
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Christmas Market in Piazza del Campo in Siena.
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Tuomaan Markkinat in Helsinki, Finland.
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People visit the Christmas Market in Brussels, Belgium.
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People ice skating at the annual Christmas market in Toronto.
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Elevated view of the Holiday Market in Union Square.
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Aerial view of the Christmas Market in Oslo.
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Locals skate at the Christmas ice rink in the city centre in Zagreb.
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Vistors walk among stalls in Christmas Market in Frankfurt.
Thomas Lohnes // Getty Images
Visitors gather at the Christmas market on Domplatz square in Erfurt.
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The Annaberg Christmas Market covered in snow.
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