Augsburg High Peace Festival

No other festival in Germany is like the Augsburg High Peace Festival. It dates back to August 8, 1629, when the Augsburg Protestants were forbidden to practice their religion during the Thirty Years' War. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, they achieved equality with the Catholic Church — and celebrated the High Peace Festival for the first time in 1650. Since 1950, August 8th has been Germany's only municipal public holiday, valid only within the city of Augsburg.

The confessional day of remembrance has long since become a festival of peace between denominations and religions. It aims to encourage people to dare to do something for peace: to pray for it, to work for it, to build dialogue, to resolve conflicts peacefully, to build bridges, and to celebrate peace. Around August 8th, a multi-week, participatory cultural program with over 60 events, ecumenical services, Peace Tables where Augsburg residents eat together, and the Children's Peace Festival — the city's largest family festival — takes place.

Its cultural significance is also officially recognized: in 2018, the High Peace Festival was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, and in 2019, it received the Bavarian Homeland Award. It is organized by the Peace Office of the City of Augsburg, supported by, among others, the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and the Arts.