Events and festivals in Saarland on 10 and 11 October 2026: the SAARathon along the Saar, plus a potato market in Wustweiler, a sausage market in Illingen, a village fair in Grügelborn and urban art in Völklingen.
Start and finish are at the Kulturbiergarten in St. Arnual. In Saarbrücken, the Sparkassen-SAARathon runs along the river on Sunday, 11 October 2026. Events and festivals in Saarland on 10 and 11 October 2026: the SAARathon along the Saar, plus a potato market in Wustweiler, a sausage market in Illingen, a village fair in Grügelborn and urban art in Völklingen.
The SAARathon on the Saar riverbank
The Sparkassen-SAARathon brings together a marathon, a half marathon, the 10 km Westspangenlauf, a 5 km run for everyone and a Kids Run on a single Sunday. The course is flat and fast, right along the riverbank, with views across the Saar to Saarbrücken castle. The marathon doubles as the Saarland state championships.
The Westspangenlauf, one of the most traditional road races in Saarland, reaches its 38th edition in 2026. Today's SAARathon grew out of it, run by the Westspangenlauf e.V. with Sparkasse Saarbrücken as main sponsor and name-giver.
Race packs are handed out on Saturday, from 11am to 2pm at the Kulturbiergarten.
On Sunday, handout runs from 8 to 9:30am, right before the start. Aid stations stand every 5 km, with professional timing and medical care. Before and after the run, the Kulturbiergarten offers changing rooms and showers.
Potato market, sausage market, village fair and urban art
On Saturday, the local heritage and tourist association invites visitors to Wustweiler, a district of Illingen, for the Grommbeermarkt, Saarland dialect for potato market. At 11am the mayor, the village head and the reigning potato prince and princess open it by tapping the first barrel, to the sound of hunting horns. Local clubs serve potato pancakes, potato soup and a Lyoner pan with potatoes, and the festival meadow by the old mine tunnel stays open until 6pm. Sunday then moves to Illingen itself: on the Neuer Markt, the Illingen sausage market runs from 11am to 6pm with a barrel tapping on the main stage, Lyoner, bratwurst, Schwenkbraten, apple must, Federweisser, onion tart and live music. Shops in the town centre open from 1 to 6pm for the Sunday trading.
In Grügelborn, a district of Freisen, the village fair is on with carousels, rides and catering by the local clubs, with free admission. In Völklingen, the Urban Art Biennale continues at the Völklinger Hütte until 15 November. The site-specific works come from 55 artists from 17 countries and turn the UNESCO World Heritage site into an open-air gallery, open daily from 10am to 7pm. A day ticket for the ironworks costs 17 euros, 15 euros reduced, and children and young people up to 18 get in free.