Events and festivals in Saxony on October 3 and 4, 2026: over 150 films at the SCHLiNGEL children's film festival in Chemnitz, plus bandoneon music in the Ore Mountains and a traditional fish harvest in Lusatia.
Over 150 films. They screen from October 2 in cinemas across downtown Chemnitz at the SCHLiNGEL festival. Events and festivals in Saxony on October 3 and 4, 2026: over 150 films at the SCHLiNGEL children's film festival in Chemnitz, plus bandoneon music in the Ore Mountains and a traditional fish harvest in Lusatia.
SCHLiNGEL: 150 Films Across Downtown Chemnitz
The SCHLiNGEL film festival opens on October 2 in several cinemas across downtown Chemnitz. Over nine days, through October 10, more than 150 films from around the world screen across the city center: feature films, animation, documentaries and short films, spread across multiple venues.
2026 marks the 31st edition. Founded in 1996 by the Saxon Children's and Youth Film Service, the festival ranks among the largest and most important children's and youth film festivals in Europe. An international main competition and a youth competition award prizes through several juries, including a children's jury and a youth jury. A country focus, which changes every year, presents a curated selection of films from one region.
Beyond the competitions, SCHLiNGEL carries an educational mission. Kindergartens, schools and after-school groups take part in film education programs, with workshops on camera work, screenwriting and editing. Panels, talks and an industry networking program bring together filmmakers from across Europe.
Chemnitz was European Capital of Culture in 2025. The film festival has since become one of the central dates on the cultural calendar of Saxony's third-largest city. Venues sit within the central district, within walking distance of Chemnitz's main station. Tickets are sold through ff-schlingel.de and directly at the box office, with school screenings booked separately.
The Rest of the Weekend in Saxony
In the Ore Mountains, Carlsfeld turns into a gathering point for bandoneon players from October 2 to 4: the International Bandonion Festival ranks as Germany's most important bandoneon meeting and reaches its 32nd edition this year, held in the birthplace of the instrument. Lauter-Bernsbach marks the 30th edition of the Lauterer Vugelbeerfast over the same weekend, with four stages and a gathering of thirty regional queens, carried by local clubs since its first edition in 1997. On the manor grounds in Olbernhau, the Olbernhau Autumn Festival draws crowds with rides, live music, a lantern parade on Saturday evening and the traditional bock beer tapping that opens the festival.
On the holiday itself, October 3, 2026, Geyer opens the seventh edition of Country am Teich, a free open-air by the Greifenbach reservoir that has run without an entry fee or paid bands since 2019. In Burgstädt, about 20 kilometers north of Chemnitz, a 38-meter Ferris wheel turns over the same weekend, with a Saturday local produce market and a large Sunday flea market: the Burgstädt town festival closes on Sunday evening with fireworks.
In Upper Lusatia, the island pond in Radibor is drained on October 3, 2026: the Abfischfest, run by the Inselteichgemeinschaft Radibor association since 1974, shows Sorbian fishing tradition with free admission. Torgau turns its Renaissance old town into a festival mile: Torgau leuchtet peaks with a lantern parade on Saturday evening, alongside a medieval market in the Hartenfels castle courtyard.