Coburger Vogelschießen

672 Years of Marksmen Tradition

The Schützengesellschaft Coburg 1354 e.V. is one of the oldest private marksmen's societies in the world. Founded in 1354, it is over 670 years old — and the Coburger Vogelschießen is the annual grand event with which it celebrates its long tradition. The festival's roots reach back to the Middle Ages: the Vogelschießen was originally a defensive exercise for the citizen marksmen, where a wooden bird was shot down from a pole. Over the centuries, this evolved into a Volksfest with a parade, festival tent, king's shooting competition, and amusement park.

Ten Days on the Ketschenanger Fairground

The venue is the Ketschenanger fairground, located very close to Coburg's city center — a flat meadow at the foot of the Veste Coburg, which is transformed for the festival week into a complex of tents with a large beer tent stage and an amusement park with carousels, a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, and food stalls. The schedule has followed a fixed pattern for generations: opening with a beer tapping ceremony and fireworks, a historic parade on the first Sunday, the king's shooting competition on the last weekend, and the grand coronation of the marksmen's king to conclude.

From Parade to Fireworks

Like few other Bavarian festivals, the Coburger Vogelschießen combines the two worlds of 'historic' and 'modern': on the first Sunday, the traditional parade in historic uniforms marches through the city center — marksmen, brass bands, historic costume groups, and floats. On weekdays, the large festival tent dominates the scene with changing live bands. Monday features the traditional crossbow shooting, Wednesday is Family Day with reduced ride prices, and the final Sunday hosts the king's shooting competition and the coronation of the new marksmen's king.

Coburg and the Volksfest

Coburg, the ducal residence of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and formerly a bridge to the British royal family (Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort, was from here), is visually dominated by the mighty Veste Coburg. The Vogelschießen is more than just a festival — it is a central marker of identity for this city between Franconia and Thuringia, with a long history as a site of political and cultural mediation in Central Germany.