Datteln Autumn Fair

Datteln Autumn Fair — traditional city public festival

The Datteln Autumn Fair is a fixed date in the annual calendar of the northern Ruhr area city of Datteln. From September 13th to 15th, 2026, showmen and food vendors will occupy Rathausplatz and Berliner Platz in the city center — the central squares of the city become the fair stage with rides, sweet stalls, shooting galleries, and snack stands.

Three days of fair in the city center

Classic autumn fair program:

• Rides for all ages — dodgems, carousels, chain carousel, children's rides
• Shooting galleries, throwing games, lottery stalls
• Sweet stalls — candied almonds, gingerbread, cotton candy
• Food stalls — bratwurst, fries, potato pancakes, mushrooms

The fair is designed to be family-friendly and attracts visitors from the entire northern Ruhr area.

Rathausplatz and Berliner Platz — city center axes

Rathausplatz is the political and social center of Datteln. The Datteln Town Hall, the main church, and several administrative and commercial buildings border it. Berliner Platz is located directly next to it and is connected to Rathausplatz via the main axis. Both squares together form the city center — and in the fair week, a contiguous festival area.

Datteln — city at the intersection of canals

With just under 35,000 inhabitants, Datteln (a town belonging to the district of Recklinghausen) is a medium-sized city on the northern edge of the Ruhr area. Datteln is primarily known for being the intersection of the four major canals — the Dortmund-Ems Canal, the Rhine-Herne Canal, the Wesel-Datteln Canal, and the Datteln-Hamm Canal cross here. This geographical location has historically shaped the city. In addition, Datteln is known for hard coal mining and the controversial Datteln 4 power plant.

Recklinghausen District and the Vest

The Recklinghausen district — historically the "Vest Recklinghausen" — connects rural areas north of the Ruhr area with industrially shaped cities on the edge of the region. The Datteln Autumn Fair is one of several traditional city public festivals in the region and complements the spectrum of Recklinghausen, Castrop-Rauxel, and Marl.