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MAGDEBURG, Germany, Nov 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The Christmas market in Germany's eastern city of Magdeburg opened Thursday to the quiet chimes of a nearby church bell, less than a year after a car ramming attack killed six and wounded hundreds.

Heavy concrete blocks painted a festive green and red lined the outside of the market, part of extensive new security measures at such markets across Germany.

Many people think the site "looks like a fortress," said Magdeburg's mayor Simone Borris.

"But I believe that people who have been looking forward to the Christmas markets will especially go now, because we don't want to let our traditions be taken away from us, and certainly not by... the attack and what followed."

Christmas markets are a beloved tradition in Germany, with nearly every small town boasting its own, where merchants peddle gifts, mulled wine, sausages and sweets.

But the mounting costs and complexity of ensuring security after the December 20, 2024 attack in Magdeburg have cast doubt on the security of some of the markets.

It remained uncertain until Wednesday whether Magdeburg's main market -- located in the heart of the city -- would open on time as authorities reviewed protection plans.

The suspect in the attack, 51-year-old Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, is now on trial at a temporary courthouse in Magdeburg specially set up for the hundreds of witnesses, victims and relatives attending the proceedings.

Abdulmohsen, a psychiatrist who moved to Germany from Saudi Arabia and claimed asylum in the country, has espoused a mix of personal grievances, conspiracy theories, far-right and anti-Islam views.

Safety concerns about Christmas markets had already been raised after a 2016 truck attack on a crowded market in Berlin that killed 12 people.