Germany–Quedlinburg

As luck would have it we walked into the Quedlinburg central marketplace for the opening ceromoney of the Gildefest, ( Not sure but believe this to be the Guild of merchants?) The Mayors speech. There were men in traditional dress,and soldiers in old 18th century uniforms and as a surprise firing muskets which made everybody jump. The children then released baloons with labels into the air. As you walked around the circular road within the old city walls the streets were lined with stalls of all kinds and stages in each smaller market area.

Quedlinburg is located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list. Quedlinburg is one of the best-preserved medieval and renaissance towns in Europe, having escaped major damage in World War II.
In the innermost parts of the town there are half timbered buildings from at least five different centuries,including a 14th century structure one of Germany’s oldest.
We spent the day walking around the old streets, sitting every now and again enjoying the food, beer and entertainment.