Events and festivals in Saxony on October 10 and 11, 2026: the Heinrich Schütz Music Festival ends after ten days, plus the autumn market in Rietschen and SCHLiNGEL's last day in Chemnitz.
Between Dresden, Gera and Weißenfels. The festival in question is the Heinrich Schütz Music Festival in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, which ends on Sunday, October 11, 2026. Events and festivals in Saxony on October 10 and 11, 2026: the Heinrich Schütz Music Festival ends after ten days, plus the autumn market in Rietschen and SCHLiNGEL's last day in Chemnitz.
Retracing Schütz between Dresden and Zeitz
The Heinrich Schütz Music Festival opened its 29th edition on October 2 and runs until October 11. Its theme is «Spurensuche. Anstoß und Aufbruch», a search for traces, impulse and new beginnings.
Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) is regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach. He was born in Köstritz, today Bad Köstritz in Thuringia, and worked as court Kapellmeister in Dresden. He shaped German church music of the 17th century and joined Italian style traditions from Venice with German Protestant music.
The festival has honored this legacy since 1998 and plays at places tied to Schütz: Dresden, Bad Köstritz, Weißenfels, Zeitz and Gera. Concerts take place in churches, castles and historic concert halls, with well-known early music ensembles on the bill. In 2026 the ensemble «The Present» is artist in residence.
The free SWALK Heinrich Schütz app for Android and iOS offers audio walks at the venues that combine Schütz's historic music with modern electronics.
Market, cinema, jazz and a palace
Sunday, October 11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: the Herbstmarkt Erlichthof Rietschen gathers craftspeople and direct sellers on the grounds of the log-house settlement. There are crafts, honey, liqueurs, smoked goods, pumpkins and apples. A small stage offers folk music and occasional Sorbian songs, and children get craft stations and pony rides. Admission is free.
In Chemnitz, the SCHLiNGEL film festival ends on Saturday, October 10. Since October 2, its 31st edition has shown over 150 films from around the world in several downtown cinemas, with competitions, a children's jury and a youth jury.
In the border triangle, the Mandau Jazz Festival in Zittau runs from October 2 to November 28, spread over individual concert days. It has existed since 1984 and shares program and artists with the Czech Mandava Jazz Festival in neighboring northern Bohemia. The Konzert-Sommer at Rammenau Baroque Palace in the district of Bautzen runs from March 1 to October 11, with the Hall of Mirrors and the palace park as settings.
Tickets for SCHLiNGEL are available at ff-schlingel.de and directly at the cinema box offices.