The Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, reopened almost a year ago after six people – including a child – were killed in a car ram attack.
Although there were rumors that the festivities had been canceled due to safety concerns after last year’s tragedy, more than 140 traders opened their stalls on Thursday morning. The traders’ goods include candles, woolen hats, candied almonds and other Christmas treats The Associated Presswhich the German news agency dpa quoted. In addition to the small shops, the market has an ice rink and a Ferris wheel.
“Expectations are hopeful, of course with the utmost respect for what happened last year, and we simply hope that people will rediscover their Christmas market,” Paul-Gerhard Stieger, director of the Magdeburg Christmas Market GmbH, told RTL Television, according to the AP.
US Stabbed woman defending women on German tram criticizes immigration policy after suspect released
Visitors walk through the Magdeburg Christmas Market after its opening in Magdeburg, Germany, Thursday, November 20, 2025. (Matthias Bein/dpa via AP)
After last year’s attack, the city and market organizers invested just over $288,000 in new security systems, according to the AP, which cited dpa. The measures reportedly include concrete blocks intended to prevent vehicles from entering the market area.
On December 20, 2024, five women and one boy were killed and several others injured in the car ram attack that lasted just over a minute. The suspected attacker has been identified as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 51-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia. He arrived in Germany in 2006 and was granted permanent residency, the AP reported.
Rescue workers in action at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. (Dörthe Hein/photo alliance via Getty Images)
BOURBON STREET TERRORIST INVESTIGATING GERMANY CHRISTMAS MARKET ATTACK, MARDI GRAS FOR DEADLY RAMPAGE: FBI
During the attack, al-Abdulmohsen is said to have driven through the Christmas market in a rented BMW X3 at speeds of up to about 48 kilometers per hour.
Al-Abdulmohsen’s trial began last week and if convicted he faces life in prison. He is charged with murder in the six deaths and attempted murder in connection with the 338 others who were injured. Additional, the BBC reported that he is accused of causing grievous bodily harm to 309 people.
Bailiffs lead the defendant, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, into the courtroom at the temporary courthouse of the Magdeburg District Court for his trial in Magdeburg, Germany, Thursday, November 20, 2025. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Prosecutor Matthias Böttcher reportedly told the court that al-Abdulmohsen acted out of “perceived personal frustration” and aimed to hit as many people as possible to get “attention,” the AP reported, citing dpa.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
