Dortmund Hansaplatz, Germany Live Cam

Hansaplatz lies below this webcam in the centre of Dortmund, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. In December the square is filled with market stalls around a tree assembled from spruce trunks in the middle of the frame.

The Christmas market has been held here since 1878 and runs about 300 stalls; the tree, built from more than a thousand trees on a steel frame, is the market's signature and one of the tallest of its kind. Dortmund was a coal and steel city and rebuilt its centre after the war.

For six weeks the square in view is solid with people from mid-afternoon. The rest of the year it is a paved open space with the tram running past.