Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in Germany
- Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the festival dates on the festival’s website or with a local tourist information office. For more information about these and other events, visit the official tourism site for Germany.
- This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout Germany. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn’t a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
- See upcoming holidays and festivals across Europe
2015
January 1: New Year’s Day (closures)
January 6: Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige, volunteers dressed as Three Kings go door-to-door caroling and collecting for charity; some closures)
February 12–18: Fasching (carnival season, balls, parades in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday; Cologne’s huge Rosenmontag parade is February 16)
March 27–April 19: Thuringian Bach Weeks, Erfurt
April 3: Good Friday (Karfreitag)
April 4–19: Spring Festival, Nürnberg (rides and costumes in Luitpoldhain park)
April 5–6: Easter Sunday and Monday (Ostersonntag and Ostermontag; closures)
April 17–May 3: Spring Festival, Munich (Frühlingsfestival, the “little sister of Oktoberfest”)
May 1: May Day (maypole dances; closures)
May 14: Ascension Day (closures)
May 22–25: Carnival of Cultures, Berlin
May 22–25: Meistertrunk Show, Rothenburg (historic play and market, medieval costumes, Biergarten parties)
May 24–25: Pentecost (Pfingsten) and Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag; closures)
May 29–June 7: Weindorf wine festival, Würzburg
May 31–June 2: Mozartfest, Würzburg
Late May–early June: Fressgass’ Fest, Frankfurt
June 4: Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam, closures in southern and western Germany)
June 12–14: Luther's Wedding festival, Wittenberg
June 19–21: Stadtteilfest Bunte Republik Neustadt, Dresden (huge counter-cultural block party celebrating the Outer New Town’s tongue-in-cheek status as an independent republic)
June 26–28: Elbhangfest, Dresden
July 3–19: Kiliani Volksfest, Würzburg (county fair–type folk festival)
July 11: Kölner Lichter, Cologne (fireworks and music)
Mid–late July: Sommerwerft, Frankfurt (theatre and arts festival)
July 17–26: Kinderzeche, Dinkelsbühl (traditional dancing, parades)
July 26: Klassik Open Air, Nürnberg (series of free classical concerts and firewords in Luitpoldhain park)
July 30–August 2: Bardentreffen Nürnberg (world music festival)
August 1–3: International Beer Festival, Berlin
August 12–16: Weindorf wine festival, Rothenburg ob der Tauber
August 15: Assumption (Mariä Himmelfahrt, closures in Bavaria and Saarland)
August 27–31: Wine festival, Cochem
August 29–30 (likely): Museumsuferfest, Frankfurt (music, food, culture)
September 2–11: Rheingau Wine Festival, Frankfurt
September 4–6: Reichsstadt Festival, Rothenburg ob der Tauber (fireworks)
September 9–19: International Literature Festival Berlin
Mid-September: Fall Folk Festival, Nürnberg (rides and costumes in Luitpoldhain park)
September 19: Rhine in Flames festival, St. Goar (fireworks; nearby towns on the Rhine host the Rhine in Flames earlier in the year; check online for dates)
September 19–October 4: Oktoberfest, Munich (a.k.a. Wies’n)
September 26–27: Pottery and craft market, Wittenberg
October 3: German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit; closures)
October 30–November 2: Jazzfest Berlin
October 31: Reformation Day celebration, Wittenberg (closures in some Protestant areas)
November 1: All Saints’ Day (Allerheiligen, closures in southern and western Germany)
November 11: St. Martin’s Day (Martinstag, feasts)
December: Christmas markets throughout Germany, particularly in Nürnberg, Munich, Rothenburg, and Freiburg
December 6: St. Nikolaus Day (parades)
December 24: Christmas Eve (Der Heilige Abend, when Germans celebrate Christmas)
December 25: Christmas Day (closures)
December 26: Boxing Day (closures)
December 31: New Year’s Eve (Silvester; fireworks, particularly big in Berlin)