Feuerspuren – International Storytelling Festival

Stories on Every Corner of Gröpelingen

If you want to experience Feuerspuren, you need to go to Gröpelingen, in Bremen West. Here, along Lindenhofstraße, one of Northern Germany's most unusual cultural events takes shape on a single November Sunday: an international storytelling festival that turns the entire neighbourhood into a stage. More than a hundred storytellers perform at over twenty locations – and hardly any of them is a traditional event hall.

You'll hear stories in the launderette while the machines are running, in the hair salon between mirrors, in the bike repair shop, on a farm, or in a mosque. This very juxtaposition of everyday life and the art of storytelling is what makes Feuerspuren so captivating. Stories are told in many languages – Spanish, Turkish, Bulgarian, Dutch, Flemish, English, Breton, Romanian, and Kurdish – reflecting the diverse population of Gröpelingen.

From Harbour District to Storytelling Hub

Gröpelingen was shaped by shipbuilding for decades. Today, the district is one of Bremen's most international, and Feuerspuren celebrates precisely this diversity. The festival is supported by the association Kultur Vor Ort e.V. together with the Bürgerhaus Oslebshausen – a genuine neighbourhood culture that has grown since the mid-2000s and has long been recognised far beyond Bremen.

Long Night and Lantern Parade

The Long Night of Storytelling already kicks off on Saturday evening at the Bürgerhaus Oslebshausen – an evening-long programme for an older audience, which involves a separate admission fee. On Sunday evening, when the stories have faded, the Feuerspuren parade forms the crowning finale: with lanterns and a samba band, a procession of lights winds through Gröpelingen, ending with a final show on the library square.