Events and festivals in Hesse on the weekend of September 5 and 6, 2026: the Bergsträßer Winzerfest turns Bensheim into a wine village for around 100,000 visitors, while the Rheingau festival season closes in Wiesbaden.
Ten dates, one single weekend.
In Bensheim on the Bergstrasse, the largest wine festival in southern Hesse opens on September 5, 2026. Around 100,000 visitors come to the Bergsträßer Winzerfest, while the same day closes the Rheingau Musik Festival's summer season in Wiesbaden and Hesse's most-visited theatre festival gives its last shows in Bad Vilbel, from Bensheim in the south to Kassel in the north.
The Bergsträßer Winzerfest in Bensheim
On 5.9.26, Bensheim's Bergsträßer Winzerfest opens its first stands, and the old town around the market square, the main street and the surrounding lanes turns into one continuous wine village for nine days, through September 13.
The tradition goes back to 1929. Around 100,000 people come every year to taste some 160 wines from the Bergstrasse, from dry Rieslings and Silvaner to Spätburgunder, poured by small family estates alongside larger regional wineries. Stalls and wine arbours line the whole old town, walkable end to end across the nine days.
A large parade crosses the town centre with more than 100 decorated floats. Four themed days structure the nine festival days: a business day for local firms, a youth day, an associations' day for Bensheim's clubs, and a dedicated women's day, each putting one group centre stage.
On September 6, the shops of downtown Bensheim open for a special Sunday trading day. Arriving on the opening weekend, rather than waiting for the festival's final days, means catching the full launch of the wine village, parade and opening ceremony included.
Wine festivals and town fairs across Rhine-Main
In Darmstadt, the Darmstadt Wine Festival closes on September 6 in Wilhelminenstraße. More than 30 wine and food stalls, run by winegrowers from the Hessische Bergstrasse, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Pfalz and Nahe regions, including many family businesses and a few organic specialists, define southern Hesse's big inner-city wine festival, which traditionally ends with a shopping Sunday. In Hanau, the Hanau Bürgerfest marks its 64th edition on the Main meadows by Philippsruhe Castle. Close to 200 individual events range from a free children's programme to dragon boat races, a pedal-boat cup and a waterski show, with day tickets between 4 and 6 euros.
As one of the leading new pop and club culture festivals in the Rhine-Main area, the Riviera Festival takes over established and temporary venues along Offenbach's Main riverfront from September 4 to 6, with indie, rap, electro and post-punk, plus its own industry conference and newcomer programme, as part of the 2026 World Design Capital programme. At the same time, from September 5, the Rhine-Main Industrial Heritage Days open industrial landmarks across the Frankfurt region along the Rhein-Main Industrial Heritage Route, with guided tours, workshop visits and boat trips under the theme On the Way to Modernity.