Searching for a Tree for the 2025 Prague Christmas Market
The Christmas market organizers are announcing their annual competition named Search for a Tree for the fifteenth time this year. Anyone can suggest a tree—there’s no need to own it yourself. All you need is to know about an interesting spruce tree that deserves recognition. Suggestions are welcomed for trees that are overgrown and could pose a danger to public areas (parks, gardens, etc.), which means they need to be removed for safety reasons, or that are located on construction sites. You can send descriptions and photos of the conifer to [email protected] by 15 September 2025, and the winner even receives a cash prize.
Last year’s Christmas tree, which was a spruce, came from the town of Krompach in the Lusatian Mountains, and its wood was put to good use after the holiday season. Students from Jarovo transformed it into an insect house, symbolically returning it to Krompach. They also created a house with an aviary for guinea pigs and birds, as well as benches for the clients of DC Paprsek in Prague 9.
What are the criteria for selecting a tree?
The ideal Christmas tree is a Norway spruce. It should have branches that grow evenly, a straight trunk, and be around 23 to 25 metres tall. This tree will then be trimmed down to a safe height of 22 metres. It can grow anywhere across the Czech Republic. Ideally, it would be near a road, but in the past, technology has helped move even remote trees using a crawler crane to lift them onto a tractor-trailer without causing any damage. The chosen Christmas tree must be healthy and undergoes an expert assessment to ensure it is suitable for placement in the heart of the Old Town Square.
In November 2025, the organizers will work with Prague City Technology Company to select an appropriate candidate. The city company will, as in previous years, handle the tree felling, transport, and decorating of the Christmas tree. If everything goes according to schedule, the tree lighting ceremony is set for Saturday, November 29, 2025, and the market will be open until January 6, 2026. The wood from the spruce will also be repurposed afterward.
The Prague Christmas Market 2025 is on the lookout for the perfect spruce tree to illuminate. Anyone can submit their tree suggestions until September 15, 2025, and there’s a monetary reward for the selected tree.
