Dresden (dpa) - One of Germany's most famous Christmas markets presented a nearly 4-ton cake as part of its traditional procession on Saturday.

Thousands accompanied the giant stollen cake through the historic Old Town of Dresden as part of the eastern city's 26th Stollen Festival.

The sweet pastry weighs 3,950 kilograms and is 4.1 metres long, 1.77 metres wide and 87 centimetres tall, the bakers said, meaning this year's massive cake is about 100 kilograms heavier than last year's calorie-rich delicacy.

After the ceremonial unveiling on the city's Striezel Market, the cake was cut into thousands of smaller portions that are this year sold for the benefit of the city's outpatient child and youth hospice services.

"The Dresden Stollen Festival has great appeal," said Michael Kretschmer, premier of the state of Saxony, of which Dresden is the capital. The premier had come to the festival with his family.

The festival stands for strong craftsmanship, lived tradition and great commitment, he added.

With almost three quarters of a million raisins and sultanas, 1.5 tons of flour and over 200 kilograms of almonds, the sweet XXL pastry was pulled on a special carriage through the city's streets to the Old Market square in a historic parade, followed by chimney sweeps, butchers and incense makers.

The spectacle is reminiscent of the grand troop display of 1730 organized by Saxony's legendary Baroque prince Augustus the Strong (1670-1733), also known as the Lustlager von Zeithain.

At the 1730 event an approximately 1.8-ton stollen cake, known locally as a "striezel" thereby giving the Dresden Christmas market its name, measuring about 7 metres long and 3 metres wide was cut into 24,000 portions.

Since 1994, the tradition has been revived with an equivalent massive cake baked annually under the direction of the Dresden Stollen Conservation Association. The record weight was 4.2 tons in 2013.