Bautzen Old Town Festival — Water | Art | Light

Eight Years of Art and Light in Bautzen's Old Town

Since its premiere, the Bautzen Old Town Festival has developed into one of Saxony's most distinctive city festivals. Unlike typical folk festivals (Volksfeste) or city festivals (Stadtfeste), the Bautzen festival focuses on artistic staging: light installations, artistic interventions, sound installations, live music, and interactive activities shape the program. The old town itself — with its 17 towers, the town hall, St. Peter's Cathedral, and narrow alleys — becomes a living work of art.

«Water | Art | Light» — the Motto 2026

The 8th edition is under the motto «Water | Art | Light». Three terms, three thematic areas, three artistic currents: Water refers to the Spree River, which flows through Bautzen in several stages and shapes the city; Art refers to the diverse artistic disciplines of the festival; Light refers to the light installations and illuminations that transform the old town into another world after dark.

Ten Venues in the Old Town

The festival uses 10 venues in Bautzen's old town — from the main market square (Hauptmarkt) to the Reichenturm area and the Ortenburg, the mighty castle fortress above the Spree. This distributed staging makes the festival a city walk: visitors move between the venues, rediscover alleys and squares, and meet artists at various points. A festival map / mobile app guides visitors through the venues and provides program times for each location.

Light Installations, Music, Interactive Activities

Various program types are spread across the three festival days: light installations on houses, towers, and the town hall — impressive in the evening and at night; live music on small stages (acoustic, jazz, folk, classical); interactive art activities (hands-on workshops, performance pieces, sound installations that visitors can experiment with); theater and dance at selected venues; culinary highlights with regional specialties from Upper Lusatia.

Bautzen — City of 17 Towers and Sorbian Capital

The independent city of Bautzen / Budyšin, with around 38,000 inhabitants, is the capital of the Bautzen district and the political and cultural center of the Sorbs, the Slavic minority of Upper Lusatia. The old town with its 17 preserved city towers — a unique ensemble in Germany — and the mighty castle above the Spree is a UNESCO World Heritage candidate. The festival makes intensive use of this backdrop — those who find bilingual terms in Sorbian/German in the program will experience the city's multilingualism firsthand.