August opens in Brandenburg with a crowded calendar. On August 1 and 2, the state pulls out every register: heavy riffs in Cottbus, drift action at the Lausitzring, jousting from punts in Peitz.
Our favourite this weekend sits in the Spreewald, though. The Wailers play a small island near Lübbenau. You can only get there by punt, bike or on foot. Cars stay outside.
Add a shooting guild founded in 1425, a festival devoted to a single cucumber, and two early-music concerts in Uckermark venues. Eleven dates, spread right across the state.
Rock in Wotschofska: a reggae legend on a Spreewald island
You ride a punt through the Spreewald's canals and land in front of a concert stage. That is exactly what Rock in Wotschofska offers on August 1. Wotschofskaweg 1 in Lübbenau sits on a small island in the middle of the Spreewald.
You reach it only by boat, bicycle or on foot. Cars are banned, and that restriction is the whole point of this open air.
In 2026, The Wailers take the stage, the reggae legend from Jamaica. Patrick Snow follows with his Cat Stevens tribute. Ever wondered what a concert sounds like without a car park attached? Here is the answer. Getting there counts as part of the programme.
Blue Moon Festival Cottbus: three days of stoner rock at the lido
From July 31 to August 2, the Strombad lido in Cottbus turns into a festival site for the fourth time. Stoner rock, doom and heavy psychedelic rock fill the three days. The motto of the fourth edition is „Metamorphosis“.
Eighteen bands from the top of the genre are confirmed. They include the American stoner legends Fu Manchu, sludge band Kylesa, 1000mods from Greece, Wolves in the Throne Room and Dead Meadow.
An outdoor swimming pool as a festival site remains a statement. For three days, a scene that usually travels across Europe gathers in southern Brandenburg. The Blue Moon Festival is the loudest date in this line-up, and the most international.
Reisbrennen at the Lausitzring: Europe's biggest Japanese tuning meet
From July 30 to August 2, the 22nd edition of Reisbrennen turns the DEKRA Lausitzring in Klettwitz near Schipkau into a four-day spectacle. It is the largest gathering for Japanese tuning cars in Europe.
The programme covers drift action, Show & Shine, quarter mile runs, the AVD Drift Championship, an RC drift course and Time Attack. A dealer mile, concerts and parties round it off.
Thousands of JDM cars from Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Mitsubishi roll into Lusatia for it. If engine noise is your thing, nowhere in Brandenburg delivers more this weekend. Sunday closes the 2026 edition.
70th Peitzer Fischerfest: punt jousting on the Teufelsteich
Peitz in Lower Lusatia is a fishing town, and in 2026 it celebrates twice over. The Peitzer Fischerfest runs from July 31 to August 2 in the Volkspark, in its 70th edition. It belongs to the anniversary year marking 725 years of Peitz.
Saturday and Sunday run all day, until 10pm and 7pm respectively. The highlights are the traditional Fischerstechen on the Teufelsteich pond and the big parade on Sunday.
In Fischerstechen, two crews try to push each other off their punts into the water. The custom grew out of everyday life in the fish ponds. In Peitz it is no museum piece, but the heart of the town festival.
Schützenfest Luckenwalde: a guild from 1425 invites you to the meadow
The Schützengilde Luckenwalde von 1425 has existed for more than 600 years. Its three-day Schützenfest on the Luckenwalde festival meadow runs from July 31 to August 2.
It combines shooting competitions, a parade, fairground entertainment and a stage programme. That makes it one of the oldest and most respected shooting festivals in Brandenburg.
Shooting festivals have a long tradition across the state, but few guilds can point to a medieval founding year. Luckenwalde can. Anyone who prefers living custom over a display case will find the right address in the Teltow-Fläming district. It is a classic summer weekend for families.
Spreewälder Gurkentag in Heideblick: thirty stalls for one vegetable
The Spreewälder Gurkentag takes over the historic Höllberghof on Saturday, August 1, from 10am to 6pm. The farm lies in the municipality of Heideblick, between the villages of Langengrassau and Wüstermarke, deep in the Spreewald.
The Spreewaldverein association organises the day with around thirty stalls. The Spreewald gherkin stands at the centre of it all.
A full festival day for a single vegetable sounds odd, yet it captures the region precisely. Here the gherkin is an industry, a trademark and a piece of culture at once. For anyone who wants to understand the Spreewald through its food, this Saturday is the best date of the summer.
Summer medieval market at Rabenstein Castle: an encampment in the Fläming
The hilltop castle of Rabenstein in the Hoher Fläming nature park hosts its big summer medieval market from July 31 to August 2. For three days, reenactment camps, craftspeople and jesters from all over Germany gather there.
Expect staged combat, demonstrations of historic trades and a busy castle courtyard. The band Turas Math supplies medieval sounds.
The castle itself provides a backdrop no festival site could rebuild. Rabenstein sits well off the main roads, which turns a visit into a proper excursion. Come with children and you get the most vivid history lesson of the weekend.
Archäotechnica in Brandenburg an der Havel: fashion across millennia
On August 1 and 2, the grounds of the State Archaeological Museum in the Pauli monastery become a living craft laboratory. Archäotechnica devotes its 2026 edition to fibres, clothing and adornment through the millennia.
On both days, invited practitioners, craftspeople and researchers demonstrate historic textile, clothing and jewellery techniques from 10am to 5pm. The address is Neustädtischer Markt 1.
The format runs on hands and questions. Instead of display cases you get tools and raw materials. Curious how a garment came together 3,000 years ago? Nobody hands you a label here, you watch it happen. A quiet but very concrete museum day.
Kyritz Puppet Theatre Days: two afternoons in the monastery garden
On August 1 and 2, the Kyritz Puppet Theatre Days turn the church and monastery garden of Kyritz into a stage. The programme covers puppet, figure and object theatre.
Companies from Brandenburg and across Germany perform on both days between 2pm and 7pm. The venue is the Kultur|Kloster|Kyritz on Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Straße.
The programme explicitly addresses children and adults alike. Figure theatre reaches both groups when it is done well. Two afternoons in a monastery garden, with no wall of speakers and no funfair: Kyritz is the quietest date in this selection. For families it may also be the easiest.
Uckermark Music Weeks: the festival opens with two Sunday concerts
The Uckermark Music Weeks have been the leading early-music festival in northern Brandenburg since 1992. From August 1 to 23, more than twenty concerts fill barns, granaries, churches and manor houses across the Uckermark. This weekend marks the opening.
On Sunday, August 2, the Orbis Quartett performs its programme „Aufbruch“ in the Bürgergarten in Angermünde, with works by Monteverdi, Schumann and Legrand.
The same day at 4pm brings folk music in the baroque to a barn in Woltersdorf near Casekow. Early music in a barn sounds different from a concert hall. That contrast has carried the festival for more than three decades.
Neustädter Pferdesommer: international dressage at the state stud
The grounds of the Brandenburg state stud in Neustadt (Dosse) host the Neustädter Pferdesommer from July 30 to August 2. This is only the second edition, and it has already been upgraded from CDI3* to CDI4*.
Two arenas host international Grand Prix classes, freestyle and youngster tests. The stud counts among the most important state studs in Germany.
A CDI4* event sits high in the international dressage hierarchy. Holding it in a place with this breeding history makes obvious sense. Sunday is the closing day, so the decisive classes fall inside this weekend.
Also on this weekend
- Senftenberg Harbour Festival (August 1-2): the 12th edition at the town harbour under the motto „5 lakes. 1 festival.“, with a Lusatian market, a Ferris wheel and big fireworks. See the programme
- Müllroser Seezauber (July 31 to August 2): three days of funfair and stages by the Großer Müllroser See, with high fireworks on Saturday night. See the programme
- TKS open-air cinema Stahnsdorf (August 1, 10pm): „Ticket to Paradise“ under the stars, free entry, bring blankets and cushions. See the programme
For more dates across Germany, browse our agenda for this weekend. A punt ride to a reggae concert, or a drift show at the Lausitzring? Brandenburg opens August with one of the most varied weekends of the summer.
