Medieval Booker

Medieval Markets & Fairs ◆ Germany

Kaltenberger Ritterturnier

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.

When is Kaltenberger Ritterturnier 2027?

Next edition
Expected 2027 Kaltenberger Ritterturnier 2027 See all editions
Usually held
Three weekends in July
How often
Every year
Entry
Ticketed grounds: 2026 tickets from €34.90 per day (Gauklernacht from €44.90); seat categories vary.
Family-friendly
Yes — bring the kids
Founded
1980
Attendance
~120,000 visitors

Checked · we re-check every festival twice a year.

Past and upcoming editions

Editions of Kaltenberger Ritterturnier
EditionDatesStatusCalendar
2027 edition Expected 2027 Google Calendar · .ics

Expected means the organiser hasn't announced yet; we show the usual window.

Past editions (1)
  • 2026 edition — 10–26 July 2026

What happens at Kaltenberger Ritterturnier?

The Kaltenberger Ritterturnier is a professionally staged jousting show set at Schloss Kaltenberg, a neo-Gothic castle in Geltendorf about 50 km west of Munich. Founded in 1980 by Prince Luitpold of Bavaria to mark 800 years of the Wittelsbach dynasty, it runs over three weekends in July; the 2026 edition, billed as the 47th, ran 10–26 July.

The main event is the tournament show in the arena (about 10,000 seats plus 3,000 standing places): a scripted story with full-contact jousting, horse stunts, fire and pyrotechnics performed by the French stunt troupe Cavalcade led by Mario Luraschi. Around the arena a medieval market with more than 100 stalls, five stages of music, jugglers, falconry, craft demonstrations and food run for roughly eight hours on each tournament day. Sunday afternoons include a children’s tournament where young visitors are ‘knighted’.

Timetable: Fridays host a night tournament (the first Friday is the Gauklernacht, a jesters’ night with music and fireworks but no tournament), Saturdays an evening tournament from 16:00 to past midnight, and Sundays a day tournament from 12:00. Tickets in 2026 started at €34.90 per day and €44.90 for the Gauklernacht, sold online via the official site and Eventim. The brewery that co-owns the event quotes around 120,000 visitors a year.

Geltendorf station (Munich S-Bahn line S4) is a few kilometres from the castle; check the official site for shuttle details, or drive and use the large car parks. The arena is open-air, so bring rain gear and warm layers for the evening shows.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Kaltenberger Ritterturnier 2027?

Not yet announced. It is always held over three weekends in July; the expected window is 9–25 July 2027.

How much are tickets for the Kaltenberg tournament?

In 2026 tickets started at €34.90 per day and €44.90 for the opening Gauklernacht; seat categories vary. Tickets are sold via the official site and Eventim.

Where is Schloss Kaltenberg?

In Kaltenberg, municipality of Geltendorf, Bavaria, about 50 km west of Munich; Geltendorf station is on the S4 line.

Is the Kaltenberger Ritterturnier good for children?

Yes. Sundays include a children's tournament and knighting ceremony, and the market has crafts and shows; evening tournaments end after midnight.

What should I bring?

Rain gear and warm layers for the evening shows; the arena and market are open-air and the event goes ahead in most weather.

Is any part of the event free?

No. The market, stages and tournament are all inside the ticketed grounds.

More medieval festivals in Germany

Same country, upcoming first.

All festivals in Germany
Featured
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.

2026
Family
Featured
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.

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...

2026
Family

Other medieval markets and fairs

All medieval markets and fairs
Jousting & Tournaments Living History & Museums

Middelaldercentret (The Medieval Centre), Nykøbing Falster

Nykøbing Falster, Denmark

Middelaldercentret is an experimental living-history museum on the Guldborgsund opposite Nykøbing Falster, where a reconstructed Danish market town of around the year 1400, Sundkøbing, is populated by costumed staff who stay in character all day. Its season runs from early May to late September with daily trebuchet firing, jousting and craft demonstrations, plus an autumn-holiday week in October and a Christmas market.

On now until
Family
Featured
Jousting & Tournaments Castle Events

Tournoi de Chevalerie de Carcassonne (Knights' Tournament and Falconry Show)

Carcassonne, France

Every summer the lices between the double walls of the Cité de Carcassonne host a daily knights' tournament, a 45-minute show of mounted combat in armour, billed in 2026 as 'Tournois de chevalerie et spectacle de fauconnerie' after a falconry display was added. The 2026 season runs from 12 July to 27 August with three performances a day, every day except Saturday.

On now until
Family
Medieval Markets & Fairs Jousting & Tournaments +1

Horsens Medieval Festival

Horsens, Denmark

Horsens Middelalderfestival turns FÆNGSLET, the town's former state prison, into a medieval town for two days at the end of August, with knights, craftsmen, musicians, a market and hundreds of costumed participants. Run by the municipality since 1995 and free to enter, it calls itself northern Europe's largest medieval festival and draws around 100,000 visitors.

2026
Free Family

Read more about Kaltenberg

Stories and guides from medieval Kaltenberg.

Medieval Kaltenberg — the city guide