Events and festivals in Hesse this weekend, October 31 and November 1: Kassel holds a city festival, Darmstadt hosts adventure talks. The Casseler Herbst-Freyheit fills three squares with a medieval market and funfair, free entry.
The carousels turn on Königsplatz. That is where the Casseler Herbst-Freyheit runs on Saturday, October 31, 2026, taking over Friedrichsplatz and Opernplatz as well. Events and festivals in Hesse this weekend, October 31 and November 1: Kassel holds a city festival, Darmstadt hosts adventure talks. The Casseler Herbst-Freyheit fills three squares with a medieval market and funfair, free entry.
The Casseler Herbst-Freyheit on Königsplatz, Friedrichsplatz and Opernplatz
The Casseler Herbst-Freyheit runs from October 29 to November 1 and is organised by Kassel Marketing GmbH. It opens daily from 11 am to 6 pm, and entry is free. The name goes back to a decree by Landgrave Henry the Iron in the 14th century that exempted the city from certain levies.
Königsplatz holds the rides of the family funfair, among them carousels and a Ferris wheel, plus snack stands with Hessian specialities and sweets. Friedrichsplatz carries market stalls and the autumn market. Opernplatz takes further stalls.
The medieval market comes from Vehi Mercatus, an organiser that specialises in historical markets. Craftspeople show blacksmithing, leatherwork and pottery, jugglers and stilt walkers move through the city centre, medieval music groups perform.
On 31 October the funfair runs alongside the market, and costs arise only at the rides and stalls.
Sunday, November 1, is a shopping Sunday: the shops of the city centre open with extended hours.
Talks in the Darmstadtium, classical music in Kassel
The Weitsicht Festival Darmstadt fills the Darmstadtium on Schlossgraben until November 1 with nine live talks by adventurers, photographers and filmmakers who lead the audience to the Himalaya, to polar seas and to remote mountains.
The Kassel Music Days run until November 2. Founded in 1933, the festival plays ten concerts in the documenta-Halle, the Staatstheater, the UK14 and several historic churches.
The festival pass for Weitsicht costs less than single tickets, and tickets for the Music Days are sold through Reservix outlets.