Medieval festivals in Germany

September 2026

Hiroki Ogawa · CC BY 3.0

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Living History & Museums Historic City Celebrations

Der Meistertrunk (Rothenburg Whitsun Festival)

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber's Whitsun festival re-enacts the legend of 1631, when former mayor Nusch supposedly saved the town from General Tilly's army by emptying a tankard holding more than three litres of wine in one draught. Citizens have performed the play 'Der Meistertrunk' since 1881, framed by a four-day festival with a costumed procession, military camp, shepherds' dance and crafts market.

4–6 Sep 2026

Family

November 2026

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Medieval Markets & Fairs Medieval Christmas

Esslingen Medieval Market & Christmas Market

Esslingen am Neckar, Germany

Esslingen am Neckar's combined medieval market and Christmas market fills the half-timbered old town from the last week of November until just before Christmas. Around 200 stalls and roughly 500 programme slots of jugglers, fire artists, craft demonstrations and music make it the largest event of its kind in southern Germany.

24 Nov–22 Dec 2026

Free Family

Medieval Christmas

Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt

Nuremberg, Germany

Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt fills the Hauptmarkt and the Rathausplatz from the Friday before the first Advent to Christmas Eve with 168 red-and-white wooden stalls and about 180 traders, opened each year by the Christkind's prologue from the gallery of the Frauenkirche and drawing around two million people; the 2026 market runs 27 November to 24 December. It is not a medieval market: the square is 14th-century and the Frauenkirche was Charles IV's imperial court chapel, but the market itself is first documented in 1678 — a date the market's own historians revised from 1628 — and t...

27 Nov–24 Dec 2026

Family

June 2027

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Jousting & Tournaments Living History & Museums +1

Landshuter Hochzeit 1475

Landshut, Germany

Every four years about 2,500 costumed citizens of Landshut restage the 1475 wedding of Duke Georg the Rich and Princess Hedwig of Poland over three and a half weeks of processions, tournaments, camp life and plays. First performed in 1903, it is Europe's largest historical costume festival; the next edition runs 25 June–18 July 2027.

25 Jun–18 Jul 2027

Family

July 2027

Dark Avenger · CC BY 3.0

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Medieval Markets & Fairs Jousting & Tournaments +1

Kaltenberger Ritterturnier

Kaltenberg, Germany

The Kaltenberg Knights' Tournament is a professionally staged jousting spectacle with horse stunts and pyrotechnics in a 13,000-capacity arena at Schloss Kaltenberg, surrounded by a large medieval market and five stages. Founded in 1980 by Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, it runs over three weekends every July and draws around 120,000 visitors.

Expected Jul 2027

Family