Fête de la Musique Erfurt

An idea from Paris, adopted in Erfurt

Fête de la Musique was launched by the French Ministry of Culture in 1982 — with the vision of a day when music would be heard on every street corner, free of charge, without hierarchy, without a distinction between professional acts and amateurs. Today, the festival takes place every June 21 in over 500 cities worldwide. Erfurt has been part of it since the mid-1990s and is one of the strongholds of the festival in eastern Germany.

Three pillars: public, free, no fees

The rules are the same worldwide — and are strictly adhered to by the Erfurt association: All events are public. No one pays admission. No one receives a fee. Musicians play voluntarily. No advertising on the stages, no commercial intermediate sponsors. This makes the festival a pure community celebration, far removed from usual festival marketing.

Erfurt transforms into an open-air stage for six hours

From 4 PM to 10 PM, Erfurt's Old Town resonates in all the important squares and many alleys: Domplatz (with the magnificent ensemble of the Cathedral and St. Severus Church behind it), Wenigemarkt, Anger, Fischmarkt, Lange Brücke, Hirschgarten, Große Arche, and the Barfüßerruine as an atmospheric open-air concert venue. The mood changes for hours — from classical music in the morning, jazz and singer-songwriters in the late afternoon, to rock, pop, hip-hop, and electronic music in the evening. Most stages are so close together that you can walk through five to six concerts in an hour's walk.

A program to discover — no headliner system

The online program will be published a few days before June 21 on feterfurt.de; a printed program booklet will be available at the Erfurt Tourist Information and at selected locations in the Old Town. The deadline for the printed version is traditionally May 25. There is consciously no headliner system: the hours between a classical trio and an electronic DJ set are not weighted — whoever is looking for a favorite sound has to go out and try.

Erfurt in June — the perfect festival setting

The end of June is the best time to visit Erfurt: long evenings, mild weather, the Krämerbrücke and the medieval alleys truly come alive. The festival can be easily combined with a visit to the Augustinian Monastery, a walk across the Krämerbrücke, or a stop at the newly designed Hirschgarten. Erfurt is located in the heart of Thuringia and is reachable by ICE high-speed train in 2 hours from Frankfurt, 1 hour 45 minutes from Berlin, or 3 hours 30 minutes from Munich.