Christmas market opens in Germany's Magdeburg, 11 months after attack

The annual Christmas market opened in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Thursday, 11 months after six people were killed and hundreds injured in a car-ramming attack.

More than €250,000 ($288,000) has been invested in new security measures, including concrete blocks around the site on the city's old market square.

Christmas markets are a seasonal favourite for millions of Germans and tourists, featuring wooden huts, mulled wine, sweet stalls and sausage grills.

However, the events have also been targets of high-profile attacks in recent years, with 13 people killed in an Islamist attack on a Berlin market in 2016.

The car-ramming incident in Magdeburg on December 20 last year left more than 300 injured and six people dead, including a 9-year-old child.

Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 51-year-old Saudi national, went on trial for the killings last week.

The bloody attacks left many Magdeburgers unsure about whether the Christmas market should take place again this year.

"It was a difficult decision to hold the Christmas market on the square again," said organizer Paul-Gerhard Stieger.

Authorities eventually granted permission for the market to be held, but it will close on the first anniversary of the attack, with a memorial service to take place instead.

Magdeburg Mayor Simone Borris said emotions are high as the city nears the anniversary. "Of course, we will never forget this day," she said.

A dpa survey released last week revealed that 22% of Germans were "very" worried about attacks on Christmas markets, while 40% were "somewhat" concerned and 35% said they were not worried.