"Krone" price comparison

Graz is really “glowing” during the Advent season

Cheers! Josef Röck's mulled cider at the Eisernes Tor is particularly good. The two ladies liked it.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

In the run-up to Christmas, the city is transformed into a huge Christmas market. There are a total of 17 Advent markets. We took a look at what's on offer and, above all, what it costs.

A visit to the Glühweinstandl is simply part of the pre-Christmas experience for tourists and locals alike in the Mur metropolis. And you are spoilt for choice in the provincial capital. There are a whopping 17 Christmas markets to choose from.

We threw ourselves into the hustle and bustle and took a closer look at what's on offer. At the Iron Gate, you can't go past Josef Röck. The Styrian is a real one-off and stands behind the Budl at the Hirnalm stand of Steirerland Bleyer. "Everything here is handmade and without chemicals," Röck explains.

His mulled cider for 4.90 euros is the best. As with the Schilcher mulled wine (5.50 euros), there is no sugar in it, as Röck emphasizes. There is no dispensing system, "but you won't have a headache from the CO2 the next day".

Schilcher mulled wine is a top seller
The prices at the other stalls at the Eisernes Tor are similar - mulled wine is available from 4.70 euros. The same price level (also for 0.25 liters) is used to attract customers at the small, fine Advent market on Glockenspielplatz. Here, Barbara Hainzl-Jauk offers her delicacies from her own production - from seed oil to schnapps. "But the Schilcher mulled wine is the best," smiles the Frauental native, who sells it for 4.80 euros.

Barbara Hainzl-Jauk and Andrea Röck (right) create an Advent atmosphere at the Glockenspielplatz.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Franziska Grossauer offers a Feuerzangenbowle on Karmeliterplatz this year.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Karmeliterplatz is transformed into a kitschy Christmas wonderland, especially after dark.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Teresa from the Punschmanufaktur can come up with an Elfenpunsch (with egg liqueur) in Schmiedgasse.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

You'll have to dig a little deeper into your pockets at Karmeliterplatz. But you'll be rewarded with almost kitschy lighting and more content (0.3 liters). A mulled wine costs from 5.20 euros.

Franziska Grossauer's Feuerzangenbowle has a unique selling point. It is spectacularly served with a sugar loaf set on fire - with a shot (rum), it costs 5 euros.

Chill out at the Advent market
Mulled wine is available on the main square from 4.70 euros (0.2 liters). If you want to escape the hustle and bustle and prefer a cozier atmosphere, the Advent lounge in Schmiedgasse is the place to be. At the Punschmanufaktur, you can get the Elfenpunsch (with egg liqueur!), which is particularly popular with the ladies, for 7 euros - and for those who have had enough of mulled wine and the like, there is also a Puntigamer.