Vorarlberg’s Martinimärkte open the pre-Christmas market season
Friday 6th November 2026 on 06:01 in
Austria
Martinimärkte in Vorarlberg begin the region’s pre-Christmas market season, with Dornbirn’s one-day event taking place on Friday, ORF reports. Mayor Markus Fäßler and the “Lüt im alto Häß” group will open the market for the 49th time.
The market will also be held at Ludesch’s community centre on Saturday, November 7, and in the courtyard of Bürs school centre on Sunday, November 15.
Six Vorarlberg communities have St Martin as the patron saint of their parish church: Dornbirn, Bürs, Alberschwende, Hörbranz, Krumbach and Röthis. Their patronal feasts are celebrated around November 11, the date on which Martin of Tours is said to have been buried in 397. The observance is unrelated to the start of the carnival season, which also falls on that day.
In Ludesch, the old parish church in the village’s Barx district is dedicated to St Martin. While the Martinimärkte are a more recent tradition, lantern processions held in almost all the communities have a historical connection: Martin’s body was taken by ship to Tours in France, accompanied by lights.
Other markets are scheduled for November 14 in Nenzing and Rankweil. Bregenz’s Christmas market opens on November 15. Dornbirn’s Christkindlemarkt begins on November 20, while Feldkirch’s traditional Blosengelmarkt runs on November 20 and 21.