City Official Denies Issuing Order for Christmas Market Suspension in Response to Press Speculations

Magdeburg Mayor Apologizes for Inappropriate Email Regarding Christmas Market

In a recent development, Magdeburg's Mayor Simone Borris has apologized for an email she sent to the IG Inner City, a shareholder of the municipal Christmas Market GmbH. The apology was due to a formulation in the email that referred to her employees in a disrespectful and inappropriate manner.

The email exchange, which discussed questions of equal treatment of all Christmas markets in the city area, including fire protection and safety, was made available to the Parliamentary Investigative Committee of the Landtag by the city administration several months ago.

Mayor Borris communicates actively with the board and members of the IG Inner City and an example of this cooperation is the postponement of a major track construction project in the northern section of the Breiten Weg to minimize the burden on the inner city and its traders. Another example is the support for better signposting of the inner city due to the closure of bridges on the Magdeburg Ring.

The order for inspection of the Milk Institute in August 2025 was given by the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Mayor ordered that all decisions regarding fire protection and safety issues of the Milk Institute be collected and forwarded to the responsible deputy mayor to clarify whether all issues have been regulated. However, it should be noted that Mayor Borris has not issued any order for an inspection to ban the Christmas market of the Milk Institute.

The general permits for the use of the Bastion Cleve had already been issued in an orderly manner by the time the Mayor received the email of 29 October. The Mayor received the order for inspection from the Deputy Mayor on 6 November. The Milk Institute received all desired permits in 2024 and highlighted the close cooperation with the state capital and other representatives of the public in a press release of 19 November.

In the future, the Mayor plans to focus more on strategic topics, such as the bridge situation and the budget consolidation, while detailed questions will lie in the responsibility area of individual departments. The Mayor has worked for the Magdeburg city administration for almost 35 years and adheres to applicable law.

Mayor Borris will inform the next city council meeting on August 28 about the matter. She regrets the choice of words in the email and acknowledges that it may have given the impression that she was questioning the competence and professionalism of her colleagues.

The Mayor has shown her commitment to working collaboratively with the IG Inner City and the city administration, and has expressed her regret for any misunderstanding caused by the email. The city administration has assured that all necessary measures have been taken to ensure the smooth running of all Christmas markets in the city area, including the Christmas market of the Milk Institute.