Events and festivals in Germany on the weekend of 31 October and 1 November 2026 run from Bremen to Leipzig. Wittenberg marks Reformation Day with a historic market and a lantern procession from 5 pm.
At 5 pm the lanterns start to move in Wittenberg. The procession runs on Saturday, October 31, 2026, from the Lutherhaus to the Schlosswiese. Events and festivals in Germany on the weekend of 31 October and 1 November 2026 run from Bremen to Leipzig. Wittenberg marks Reformation Day with a historic market and a lantern procession from 5 pm.
Reformation Day where it began
The Reformation Day celebration in Lutherstadt Wittenberg takes place where, according to tradition, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church on 31 October 1517. In Saxony-Anhalt, Reformation Day is a public holiday.
During the day the old town becomes a historic market. Craftsmen, musicians, traders and jugglers fill the Schlossstrasse between the town church and the Castle Church, with food and drink made to historic recipes. Admission to the market is free.
The lantern procession sets off at 5 pm. Townspeople, visitors and historical societies walk with lanterns from the Lutherhaus through the town to the Schlosswiese, and joining in is expressly welcome. Some lanterns are handed out on site.
Festive services and organ concerts take place in the town church of St Mary and in the Castle Church.
The most recent edition added the Wittenberger Klangthesen at Bunker Hill, where residents read out Luther's 95 Theses and the recordings are played back through sound. The Castle Church and the Lutherhaus belong to the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Luther memorials.
Funfairs, jazz and Bach across the rest of the country
On the Bürgerweide in Bremen, the Bremen Freimarkt runs until Sunday, 1 November. More than 300 showmen and about 40 rides share some 100,000 square metres, and admission is free. About four million people visit the fairground every year, and the first Freimarkt took place in 1035. The Mölln Autumn Market has been documented since 1561 and sets up around 130 stalls and rides in the old town of Till Eulenspiegel's Mölln, on Saturday and Sunday from 2 pm to 11 pm. Shops in the town centre open from 1 pm to 6 pm on both days.
In Kassel the Casseler Herbst-Freyheit takes over Königsplatz, Friedrichsplatz and Opernplatz with a medieval market and a family fair, daily from 11 am to 6 pm, free of charge. In Cochem, winemakers pour their Federweisser in several colours and stages of fermentation at the Federweissenfest in the tent on the Endertplatz on Saturday and Sunday. Onion tart comes fresh from the oven, and pop and Schlager bands take turns on stage.
The Karlsruhe Herbstmess is in its 286th edition: Saturday from 2 pm, Sunday from noon. The Mess has been held twice a year since 1912, and around 90 rides and stalls fill the Messplatz on Durlacher Allee.
The Jazzfest Berlin turns 63, with the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in Wilmersdorf as its main venue. In 2025 almost 8,000 visitors came, at 99 percent capacity, with 27 acts and 120 musicians from 20 countries on the bill. The Bachfest Eisenach reaches its tenth edition since 2017 and celebrates 100 years of the Bachchor Eisenach. It stages the crossover evening «Rameau meets ABBA» on Saturday, and on Sunday at 5 pm the closing concert follows with the vocal ensemble SLIXS. The cantata services in the Georgenkirche are free on both days.
At DOK Leipzig, documentary and animated films play in several of the city's cinemas until Sunday, in the 69th edition. In Saarland the Neunkirchen Zoo turns into a Halloween stage on Saturday: Boo at the Zoo runs from noon to 6:30 pm with pumpkin carving, giraffe feeding at 2:30 pm and the flight show «Nachtjäger» at 3:30 pm. Children in costume get in free.
From Berlin, the ICE to Lutherstadt Wittenberg takes 45 minutes, from Leipzig 35, and the old town is a ten-minute walk from the station.