23rd Bergwiesenfest Stützengrün

Nature Conservation and Folk Festival

The Bergwiesenfest combines two worlds that rarely meet: nature conservation and folk festival. The organizer is the Landscape Conservation Association Westerzgebirge e.V., which has been committed to preserving the species-rich mountain meadows in the Erzgebirge for years. These lean, flowering highland meadows with their rare plants — Arnica, Troll-flower, Bearwort, Deptford Pink — have been lost in many areas in recent decades due to fertilization and the abandonment of traditional mowing practices.

23rd Edition at Gasthaus Stollmühle

In 2026, the Bergwiesenfest will take place for the 23rd time — on Sunday, June 14, starting at 1 p.m. at the traditional Gasthaus Stollmühle in Stützengrün. The date is deliberately chosen for mid-June when the mountain meadows are in full bloom.

Nature Market with Regional Products

The focus is on the nature market: regional farmers, beekeepers, cheesemakers, wild herb gatherers, and organic producers will offer their products. Honey from the surrounding mountain meadows, wild herb teas, sheep wool products, farm cheese — everything the region produces.

Traditional Crafts and Demonstrations

A special program element is the demonstration of traditional techniques: butter churning in old butter churns, spinning with a spinning wheel, scythe mowing — the centuries-old cutting technique that is essential for preserving the mountain meadows. These demonstrations charmingly show why the old practice is not just folklore but active nature conservation.

Music and Natural Atmosphere

Erzgebirge folk music accompanies the festival. From afternoon until evening, small concerts alternate with demonstrations and market stalls — a relaxed atmosphere against the backdrop of the meadows and forests of the Westerzgebirge.

Schönheide, Stützengrün, and the Westerzgebirge

Since 2017, Stützengrün has been a district of Schönheide, a highland village in the Erzgebirgskreis. The region between Aue, Schwarzenberg, and Klingenthal is one of Saxony's most wooded and rural areas. Visitors to the Bergwiesenfest can combine their visit with a hike in the surrounding mountain forests or a trip to the Eibenstock reservoir.