Erntedankfest Groß Rodensleben with Ploughing Competition

Central Germany's most extraordinary Harvest Festival

When the festival grounds of Groß Rodensleben fill up on the first weekend in October – usually on and around German Unity Day – then one of the most extraordinary festivals in the Magdeburger Börde is on its way: The Erntedankfest of the Heimatverein Groß Rodensleben, a spectacle that has no equal in this form, neither in the state of Saxony-Anhalt nor in the neighboring regions. Several thousand visitors travel for three days to celebrate, eat, drink – and above all: to watch the ploughing competition.

Ploughing Competition: Historical Field Work

The ploughing competition, the heart of the festival, is a demonstration event: On a marked plot of land, farmers and hobby ploughmen compete with historical tractor and plough constructions from different decades. A jury and the audience evaluate the furrow guidance, the depth, and the cleanliness of the work. It is a sport, a custom, and a homage to the agricultural history of the region at the same time. Anyone who has seen a row of restored Bulldogs, Lanz tractors, or MTS-50 tractors in action will not forget it.

The Magdeburger Börde – Saxony-Anhalt's Breadbasket

Groß Rodensleben is located in the middle of the Magdeburger Börde – one of Germany's most fertile landscapes, the "breadbasket" of Saxony-Anhalt with its deep black earth soils. The connection to agriculture here is not nostalgic, but everyday life. This is exactly what makes the Erntedankfest in Groß Rodensleben so impressive: It is not a folkloric spectacle, but a serious appreciation of rural tradition and its technology – with the necessary wink and sufficient festival tent atmosphere in the background.

Three Days of Programme

In addition to the ploughing competition, there is a full festival programme: Harvest Thanksgiving service, festive parade with decorated harvest wagons, demonstrations of historical agricultural technology, tractor and vintage car parade, children's programme with a straw castle and petting zoo, culinary stands with bratwurst, pea soup and apple punch, live music, dance evenings. The Heimatverein Groß Rodensleben, firmly anchored in the Börde district (Groß Rodensleben is a district of the municipality of Sülzetal), has been organizing the festival for years – a prime example of voluntary festival culture in Saxony-Anhalt.