50 Years of the Hanover Flea Market in the Old Town

© HMTG / Kirchner

Following the French model, people began haggling, strolling, and bidding for the first time in Hanover’s Old Town in 1967. Fifty years later, on June 17, this milestone will be celebrated together with flea market enthusiasts, eyewitnesses, friends, and residents of the Old Town. As a tribute to the revitalization of the first flea market by performance artist Reinhard Schamuhn, singer Peter Petrel and pianist Gottfried Böttger will open the musical program on stage at the castle parking lot, just as they did in 1967. Hanover-based journalist Tanja Schulz will host the anniversary celebration. She will guide the audience through the stage program and speak with, among others, eyewitnesses to the first flea markets at the Hohen Ufer and friends of the Old Town Flea Market.
Before the music program begins, at 9:00 a.m. right next to the stage, the Hannover Lost and Found Office will hold a bicycle auction.
Under the motto “Valuable or worthless?”, visitors will have the opportunity throughout the day to have their “treasures”—perhaps ones they just bought at the flea market—appraised by experts. This free live appraisal will be conducted by Didde Pedersen, Dieter Bünger, and Stefan Lamers from Leihhaus Hannovera and will take place at 12:00 p.m., 1:45 p.m., and 3:15 p.m.

New perspectives will be on display from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.: Visitors will then have the chance to view the flea market from the Beginenturm. A photo exhibition featuring historical photographs of the flea market rounds out the offerings at the Historical Museum in the Beginenturm.

The Hannover Adult Education Center, located at Burgstraße 14, offers a varied program for the whole family: In addition to a flea market featuring women’s clothing and accessories, there are workshops where you can make Nanas, create something creative out of Tetra Packs, or cook “typical Hannover” dishes.

The adjacent Old Town is also decked out in blue, white, and red for the anniversary, and to match the theme, many restaurants are offering special themed menus on this day. Bargain hunters, shoppers, and families can look forward to a particularly colorful birthday celebration.

You can find the detailed stage schedule for June 17, 2017, here: www.hannover.de/50jahreflohmarkt

You can find information about the flea market at Hohen Ufer here: www.hannover.de/flohmarkt

We have made photos available for editorial use at www.hannover.de/presse-hmtg (section: Hannover Flea Market in the Old Town).