Donausommer Gögglingen-Donaustetten

Danube Districts with Village Character

Gögglingen and Donaustetten are two of the southernmost districts of Ulm, located directly on the Danube, just under 5 kilometers upstream from the historic Ulm city center. Despite their incorporation into the independent city of Ulm (Donaustetten in 1971, Gögglingen in 1974), both places have retained their village character — low-rise residential buildings, lots of greenery, intact club structures. With a combined population of around 4,800, they form one of the most charming district duos in the Danube city.

Brass Music as a Link

The Blasmusik Gögglingen-Donaustetten e.V. is one of the few club fusions that firmly connect two districts — the music club unites musicians from both places and is the organizer of the Donausommer. In the festival tent on the Danube bank, the brass band itself plays, as do friendly ensembles from the Alb-Donau district and from Lake Constance. Repertoire: Swabian brass music, Bohemian classics, modern big band arrangements, and dance music in the evening.

Danube Bank as Festival Scenery

The festival is traditionally held directly on the Danube, with a view of the river and the Swabian hills of the Swabian Jura. Swabian specialties — Saiten (sausages), Maultaschen (dumplings), Schweinekamm (pork neck), Rostbraten (roast beef) — are served at stalls, draft beer comes from regional breweries (Berg from Ehingen, Gold Ochsen from Ulm), and wine from the Württemberg wine region. The format is deliberately family-friendly — not a large event, but a district festival with Danube romance.

In the Shadow of Ulm's Big Festivals

Ulm is famous for its large city festivals — the International Danube Festival, the Schwörmontag weekend, the Ulm Volksfest (folk festival) — but the district festivals are often the more enjoyable dates. The Donausommer in Gögglingen-Donaustetten is considered by insiders to be one of Ulm's most relaxed summer festivals — without crowds, with genuine club spirit and the special atmosphere that a Danube bank has on a summer evening.