Seven Outrageously Fun German Festivals

Image by iStock
Millions of people come to Oktoberfest every year, and with good reason: it’s unbelievably fun. But it’s not like Germany is boring the rest of the year. Germans love a good party, and there are so many more festivals where visitors can have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Many are also a good excuse for some Teutonic tippling, but there is plenty of family friendly fun as well. Here are seven more ideas to consider for an amazing public experience.
Frankfurt Book Fair
Frankfurt, October 11-15, 2017
Germany is a nation of serious readers, and the Frankfurt Book Fair is the premier literary event of Europe. Every year thousands of exhibitors convene to sell books, promote authors, and celebrate the written word. Frankfurt is not just for the publishing business: regular folks can get a day pass for just €19. You’ll be able to attend readings, book signings, concerts and even cooking demonstrations. If you can’t make it to Frankfurt this fall, try for the equally impressive Leipzeig Book Fair, March 15-18, 2018.
Rhine in Flames
Oberwesel, Sept 9, 2017
St. Goar, Sept 16, 2017
It is a dramatic name for a dramatic festival — or rather a series of spectacular events along the Middle Rhine from May to September. Spectators gather on the Rhine riverbanks to watch an illuminated parade of ships and a jaw-dropping fireworks display. For a truly unique treat, try one of the riverboat cruises The party continues with additional festivals that coincide with Rhine in Flames, like Oberwesel’s renowned wine market.
The Onion Fair
Weimar, October 10-15, 2017
Yes, you read that correctly. The second weekend of October, the central city of Weimar hosts the Zwiebelmarkt, or Onion Fair, a weekend-long celebration of this humble vegetable. It’s no cause for tears — the Onion Fair has live music, races, and, of course, lots of onion-based dishes. The fair has been a major trading (and partying!) event since 1653 — evidently the great poet Goethe himself loved the onion fair.
The Bremen Freimarkt Fair
October 13 to 29, 2017
This giant funfair has been going on since 1035. It is two weeks jam-packed with everything you need for a good time — roller coasters and Ferris wheels, carnivals and parades, wine and beer, and of course, food (try the smoked eel, a local delicacy). The kids will love the Kleine Freimarkt, or Little Free-Fair, which features artisans like blacksmiths and glassblowers; the grown-ups will like that the pubs are open 24/7.
Hannover Schützenfest
June 29 to July 8, 2018
A schützenfest, or Marksmen’s Fair is exactly what it sounds like — a traditional fair with a shooting competition. Hanover’s Schützenfest is the biggest one in the world. There is all the fun stuff that you expect at a German fair — rides, food, beer, wine, shopping. But the highlight is the Parade of Marksmen, a 7.5-mile long procession of dozens of bands and thousands of marksmen. There is, quite literally, nothing else quite like it.
The Bayreuth Wagner Festival
July 25 to August 29 2018
Founded in 1876, the month-long Bayreuth Festival is devoted to the works of a single composer: the controversial, bombastic and inarguably brilliant Richard Wagner. In 2018, the centerpiece will be a new production of the daunting opera Lonhengrin, directed by Yuval Sharon — the first American to direct at Bayreuth.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
2X match on all Passover gifts!
Most Popular
- 1
News A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress
- 2
Fast Forward The NCAA men’s Final Four has 3 Jewish coaches
- 3
Film & TV What Gal Gadot has said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- 4
Fast Forward Cory Booker proclaims, ‘Hineni’ — I am here — 19 hours into anti-Trump Senate speech
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ includes 17% tariffs on Israeli imports, even as Israel cancels tariffs on US goods
-
Fast Forward Hillel CEO says he shares ‘concerns’ over campus deportations, calls for due process
-
Fast Forward Jewish Princeton student accused of assault at protest last year is found not guilty
-
News ‘Qatargate’ and the web of huge scandals rocking Israel, explained
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.