ANNOTOPIA Fantasy Festival — Augustusburg Castle

ANNOTOPIA — Germany's Largest Fantasy Festival

The ANNOTOPIA Fantasy Festival is Germany's leading fantasy festival — a colorful, multi-faceted event where various subcultures meet: Steampunk (Victorian-industrial retro-futurism), Post-Apocalypse (Mad Max style), Medieval (knights, noble ladies, squires), Pirates, Vikings, Elves and Dragons, plus characters from films and series (Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Witcher, etc.). Up to 750 artists, traders, and performers are announced — a moving city of fantasy, set up at a different historical location every weekend.

Saxony Debut at Augustusburg Castle

In 2026, ANNOTOPIA is expanding to six event locations in Germany — Augustusburg Castle is the Saxony debut. The choice is programmatic: Augustusburg, called the "Crown of the Ore Mountains", is one of Germany's most beautiful Renaissance hunting lodges and sits majestically above the Ore Mountains foothills. Its elevated location, massive walls, expansive castle park, and heritage atmosphere provide the ideal backdrop for a three-day fantasy spectacle — the combination of real history (castle built 1568–1572 for Elector August of Saxony) and imaginative staging gives the festival a special character.

What You'll Find at the Festival

Spread across the festival days are market stalls with handmade costumes, leather goods, jewelry, swords, jewelry, alchemical objects, Steampunk gadgets, books, and much more. Performances on several stages — live concerts with folk, medieval, and fantasy bands, theater performances, acrobatics, fire shows. Workshops: sword fighting, archery, leatherwork, LARP character play, Steampunk gadget building. Evening spectacles with fire artists, dramatic castle lighting, and thematic staging.

Augustusburg — The Crown of the Ore Mountains

The town of Augustusburg, with around 4,600 inhabitants, is located in the Mittelsachsen district on a ridge in the Ore Mountains foothills. The Renaissance hunting lodge was built between 1568 and 1572 on behalf of Elector August of Saxony and is one of the most important preserved Renaissance buildings in Central Germany. Today, it is a museum complex with several thematic exhibitions (carriages, motorcycles, hunting weapons) and a popular excursion destination. A funicular railway has connected the town to the Ore Mountains valley since 1911 — a charming journey that is part of the festival experience.