Events and festivals in Brandenburg on 5 and 6 September 2026: the German canoe sprint championships draw hundreds of athletes to the Havel, the Kammeroper Rheinsberg closes its anniversary season, seven more dates follow.
One starting gun, one regatta course.
In Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany's best canoeists race against each other this weekend, while in Rheinsberg the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg plays its last performances of the season, and seven more dates spread from the Prignitz to the Lausitz.
The German Canoe Sprint Championships
At the Beetzsee regatta course in Brandenburg an der Havel, the national showdown in canoe sport unfolds, as the German Canoe Sprint Championships run through September 6, 2026, having already started on August 31. Two days, one finish line.
Canoe sprint and paracanoe share the course, with every age group competing, from schoolchildren to the open class, so that Germany's highest national competition level gathers on a single weekend. Admission stays free.
The national team receives a formal welcome, while hundreds of athletes travel from every German state to the Havel to race under the best conditions. Race follows race.
From the first heats in the morning to the finals in the afternoon, the rhythm of starting guns sets the pace for two days along the regatta course, where junior talent and elite athletes share the same course. A few hundred metres separate them.
Anyone standing by the Havel this weekend watches, on a single stretch of water, Germany's future and Germany's present in canoe sport race against each other.
Music, harvest and craft across the state
In Rheinsberg, the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg ties its 35th season to the 300th birthday of Prince Heinrich of Prussia, while in Potsdam internationally renowned organists close the International Organ Summer with the closing concert of its masterclasses on September 6. Both series end with music.
In the Havelland, the Havelland Harvest Festival in Schönwalde-Glien crowns its harvest queen ahead of Brandenburg's largest harvest wagon parade, a tribute the district pays to its farmers and rural traditions. In Wusterhausen/Dosse, the marksmen's guild founded in 1839 holds its Schützenfest. Born the same year as Prussia's first marksmanship regulations, it still brings shooting contests, brass bands and a parade to the town's streets.
Schmogrow in the Oberspreewald turns 625 years old and marks the anniversary with a parade, traditional costumes, dancing and local food at its anniversary weekend, running until 11pm. In Drebkau, free beer flows. At the 17th Brunnenfest, it pours straight from the town fountain, poured by the newly crowned fountain queen, alongside a flea market and a vintage car meet.
On the Oberkirchplatz in Cottbus, around 55 workshops from Germany and across Europe display pottery, vases and sculptures at the Cottbus Pottery Festival on September 5 and the following day, alongside live demonstrations at the potter's wheel, a children's programme, live music and food stalls. Cycling gets its own festival. At the DEKRA Lausitzring in Schipkau, the Velofondo Bike Festival runs a 24-hour race for solo riders and teams of two to eight, plus timed challenges over two, four or eight hours and open distances on an 11.3-kilometre flat course.
Eight towns, one weekend. From the Prignitz to the Lausitz, the programme is shared out, and every participating town brings its own character.