Candlelight Serenade on the Danube

The 2025 edition was held before a large audience on both banks of the Danube in Ulm and Neu-Ulm. The Ulmer Donaufreunde released their over 20,000 red tea lights punctually at dusk from the traditional Ulmer Schachteln onto the Danube. The lights drifted downstream in swarms and eddies depending on the current — past the Minster view, the Fischerviertel, the city walls. Thousands of spectators had already occupied the best spots on the Donaupromenade, in Friedrichsau, and on the Glacis-Anlagen Neu-Ulm hours earlier. In dry weather, the traditional fireworks from four positions over the water concluded the event. The reflection on the Danube and the silhouette of the Ulm Minster in the background once again formed the iconic image of the 2025 Schwör weekend — an Ulm classic that continues the tradition of over five decades of Candlelight Serenade.