Arnstadt Spring Festival with Easter Bonfire

Springtime Fun to Start the Season

The Arnstadt Spring Festival is the annual season opener for the Thuringian Showmen's Association (Schaustellerfachverband Thüringen e.V.) — a small family funfair that combines spring with the traditional Easter bonfire. On the Wollmarktgelände in Arnstadt — Thuringia's oldest city, in the Ilm district — the showmen set up their stalls for the upcoming season, often before moving on to Erfurt, Eisenach, or Weimar.

Family Format Instead of a Large Funfair

Unlike the Erfurt Krämerbrückenfest or the Apolda Park and Heimatfest, the Arnstadt Spring Festival deliberately focuses on a family format. Instead of roller coasters and Ferris wheels, there's a children's caterpillar ride, a classic children's carousel, and throwing games like ball toss, dart throw, and duck fishing — disciplines that revive the nostalgic funfair feeling of the 1980s. Plus grabber machines for the slightly older children.

Culinary Classics

The festival's food offerings are also classic Thuringian funfair fare: Thuringian Bratwurst with mustard from Lehesterbach is a highlight, along with Currywurst, Hungarian Langos (fried yeast dough flatbread with garlic sauce), roasted almonds, cotton candy, waffles, and crêpes. A sweet world for children, a hearty one for adults.

The Great Easter Bonfire on Hammerwiese

The festival's hallmark is the large Easter bonfire on Holy Saturday (April 4th, 2026): a large pile of wood is traditionally built on Hammerwiese and ceremonially lit in the evening — accompanied by music from brass bands or loudspeakers. Hundreds of families from Arnstadt and the surrounding area gather around the fire, which symbolically burns away the winter and ushers in spring. The Easter bonfire is a very old tradition in Thuringia, with roots going back to pre-Christian times.

Free Admission, Daily from 2 PM

The festival grounds are completely free to enter — you only pay for rides, games, and food stalls. It's open daily from 2 PM until the early evening. This makes it perfect for a family afternoon visit, ideally followed by the Easter bonfire on Holy Saturday.

Arnstadt — Thuringia's Oldest City

Arnstadt, with its approximately 27,000 inhabitants, is located in the Ilm district, south of Erfurt. The city boasts a history of over 1,300 years (first documented mention in 704) and is considered the oldest city in Thuringia. Johann Sebastian Bach served here as the first organist at the Bonifatiuskirche (now Bachkirche) from 1703 to 1707 — a Bach connection that makes Arnstadt a must-visit on the Thuringian Bach Route.