Bad Hersfeld Festival

Summer Theatre in the Stiftsruine

The Bad Hersfeld Festival has been one of the most traditional and renowned theatre festivals in the German-speaking world since 1951. The venue is the Stiftsruine Bad Hersfeld – with its approximately 70 meters in length, it is the largest Romanesque church ruin in Europe, whose mighty walls create a unique theatrical atmosphere. Every summer, under the open sky of Eastern Hesse, productions are staged here that combine classical and modern works, drama, and music.

An Anniversary Season Under New Leadership

In 2026, the festival celebrates its 75th anniversary. It is also the first season under the new Artistic Director Elke Hesse, who programmatically positions the festival with the guiding theme “Metaxy” – the space between tradition and renewal. The programme features six major productions: the premiere of “Parzival – or the Search for the Holy Grail”, the German premiere of the musical “Something Rotten!”, Aristophanes' comedy “Lysistrata” in a new version by Amanda Lasker-Berlin, a family production of Astrid Lindgren's “Pippi Longstocking”, as well as Molière's “The School for Wives” and the crime comedy “Achtsam Morden” at Schloss Eichhof.

Three Venues – One Programme

In addition to the Stiftsruine, the festival uses two other locations: Schloss Eichhof, a Renaissance building a few kilometers outside the city, and the Kapitelsaal in the museum, which hosts readings, introductory talks, and special events. Backstage tours, artist talks, and introductions to the productions complement the programme.

Bad Hersfeld as a Festival City

The spa town in the northern Hessian Werraland, with its approximately 30,000 inhabitants, lives for and by the festival in the summer. Hotels, gastronomy, and the city centre cater to audiences who travel from all over Germany – not least because Bad Hersfeld is very easily accessible as a transport hub at the intersection of the A4 and A7 motorways. The Hersfeld Prize, awarded annually as part of the festival, is one of the most prestigious awards in the German theatre landscape.