Flohmarkt, Flea market in Old Town district, Hanover, Germany.

The Flohmarkt, Germany's oldest flea market, runs every Saturday on both banks of the Leine between the Leintor and Goethe bridges. Private sellers offer used goods, bric-a-brac, craft pieces, art and collectibles; since 2006 new, packaged, mass-produced goods, recent electronics, clothing, bicycles, animals and weapons have been banned.

The market began on 8 April 1967 on the Holzmarkt around the Oskar-Winter-Brunnen, organised by Reinhard Schamuhn after an idea by Klaus Partzsch and modelled on the Paris marché aux puces. From 1972 Mike Gehrke turned it into a weekly event with up to 1,000 sellers, later moved to the Hohe Ufer. In 2006 the Freundeskreis Altstadt-Flohmarkt revived it under strict rules; since 2008 the Hannover Veranstaltungs GmbH has run it.

Since 2006 the market has banned unused or packaged goods, mass-produced items, recent electronics, clothing, bicycles, animals and weapons. The name Altstadt-Flohmarkt refers to its setting in Hanover's old town, and the market is run by Hannover Veranstaltungs GmbH.

The market runs every Saturday and welcomes all visitors for free. You will find the most stock and variety if you arrive early in the day.

The path beside the Leibnizufer, where the three Nanas stand, was named Mike-Gehrke-Promenade in 2005 after the market's organiser. Gehrke, a friend of Niki de Saint Phalle, had initiated the installation of the three sculptures in 1973.