At the top of Heiligenberg, in the picturesque university town of Heidelberg, lies a huge open-air amphitheatre in ruins. The ruins are known as Thingstätte and are one of the few surviving remnants of architecture built by the Nazis in the area. The Thingstätte is no longer in use and is nowadays only visited by hikers. That is, except on the night of April 30 every year, when tens of thousands of people with torches climb the mountain and stack it. If you’ve ever believed that Germans are stoic, you’ve never seen them at a football game. Like most Europeans, Germans love football and often have a deep-rooted loyalty to their regional team.
More than six million people descend on the city to drink large amounts of German beer, ride numerous thrilling attractions and dance to traditional Bavarian folk music. Wurstmarkt, which dates back to 1417, is the world’s largest wine festival that attracts more than 600,000 people annually. The festival is home to 36 historic wineries, mainly growing Riesling, Pinot and Gewurztraminer. For anyone who loves wine, this is one of the best festivals in Germany, as there are many wine tastings everywhere. This traditional German festival is a great time to interact with locals and enjoy lots of wine tastings. This beautiful fair and beer festival is held annually and lasts three weeks.
Costume balls, masks, masked balls, parades and other similar festivities take place across the country, as does our Mardi Gras festival here in the United States or the Carnaval do Brasil in Brazil. There is something undeniably artistic about the way german festivals are celebrated with great pomp and circumstance. Whether spring, summer, autumn or winter, this Western European country will make your holiday unforgettable, enjoyable and worthwhile. This is the Witch festival, an ancient pagan celebration to dispel evil and welcome the queen of May and the brightest days of spring.
Climb aboard a brightly lit boat to watch the spectacular pyrotechnic show along the Rhine. Up and down along the coast there are live concerts, outdoor fairs with attractions and games for the whole family, drinks, food and much more entertainment and nutrition. Musical performances include the genres of acoustic rock, country hotel oktoberfest rock, American folk, musical comedy, bossa nova, modern jazz, Deutsch pop and swing jazz. This music festival is not only attractive for music lovers, but also for tourists. This ballet festival has recently become one of the most prestigious events in all of Europe and attracts visitors from all over Europe and beyond.
There are about twenty rooms and spaces to explore, each with a stage featuring several talented performers. The main stages usually host the event’s headliners, while the smaller ones serve as an opportunity for local and emerging artists to announce their talents. As for the venues, we have to give it to Nature One for having one of the most unusual venues of any festival in Germany.
To commemorate the day during the 30-year war when the children of the city of Dinksbühl saved the inhabitants by asking favor from the leader of the invading Swedish troops. This dramatic celebration involves laboriously pushing the wheels to the top of the hills near the cities. The wheels catch fire and are steered off the hills, accompanied by loud screams.
This cultural festival could not be left out by making a list of the best festivals in Germany, as it is perhaps more famous than all these German music festivals combined. From wine festivals to film festivals, both in cities and towns, festivals in Germany are very diverse. You may think you know a country from the inside out, but you have to attend one of the traditional festivals to truly understand the country.