59 Years of the Old Town Flea Market on the Hohen Ufer

History

For 59 years, the Hannover Old Town Flea Market has been inviting visitors to stroll, browse, and haggle in the Old Town every Saturday.

For 59 years, the Hannover Flea Market has been inviting visitors to stroll, browse, and haggle in the Old Town every Saturday. “Am Hohen Ufer”—between Schlossstraße and Goethestraße—numerous vendors showcase their diverse selection at the Old Town Flea Market. New and mass-produced goods are not sold here. Art and kitsch, bric-a-brac and odds and ends are what visitors can expect at the flea market on the banks of the Leine. Here you’ll find not only entire trunks from grandmother’s day, but also paintings, jewelry, medals, and rugs, fine glassware, comics, records, CDs, toys, and tools.

April 8, 1967, is considered the birth of the Old Town Flea Market in Hannover. Performance artist Reinhard Schamuhn brought the idea to Hannover, inspired by the "marché aux puces" in Paris, and set up the first flea market at the Holzmarkt around the Oskar Winter Fountain.

The Old Town Flea Market was marked by a very special ceremony: right on time at 4 p.m., as the flea market began, Shamuhn poured a bottle of water from the Seine into the Leine. At the same time, a bottle of water from the Leine was poured into the Seine in Paris.

It wasn't until 1972 that the flea market was moved to its current location on the Hohe Ufer by Michael Gehrke, who was then the city's "image consultant." It was also Gehrke who established the weekly schedule for the Old Town Flea Market.

Whether you're a buyer or a seller, why not come join the lively hustle and bustle at the Hannover Flea Market in the Old Town on the banks of the Leine!