Fontane-Festspiele Neuruppin

Neuruppin — The Fontane Town

Neuruppin on Lake Ruppin is the birthplace of Theodor Fontane (1819-1898), the great novelist and chronicler of Brandenburg. The neoclassical city center, rebuilt after the fire of 1787, is the setting for many Fontane references: the Schinkel monument on Kirchplatz, the Altes Gymnasium (Fontane's school), the Klosterkirche, and the long lake. Since 2014, the town has been the stage for the Fontane-Festspiele every May — a literary festival that does not merely preserve Fontane but brings him into lively dialogue with contemporary literature.

Program 2026 — 13th Edition at Pentecost

In 2026, the festival falls on the Pentecost weekend, from May 22 to 25. Four days of programming, four main venues, and top-class authors. The opening evening on Friday, May 22, features Jana Hensel with a reading from "Neben der Spur" at 7 PM in the Altes Gymnasium. Saturday's program includes the auction theater "Fontane-Mumpitz" — a curious auction of Fontane memorabilia — and the Fontane Poetry Project in the Kulturkirche. On Sunday, Miku Sophie Kühmel opens the morning, followed by a literary city walk at midday, and in the afternoon, Angela Steidele reads outdoors at the Schinkel monument. Pentecost Sunday also features a concert by the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester. Pentecost Monday brings Güner Balci and Tom Wlaschiha to conclude the festival — as well as an excursion to Gransee, the setting for many of Fontane's "Wanderungen durch die Mark".

Venues — Four Stops, One City

The Altes Gymnasium is the historical heart of the festival — Fontane attended school here. The Kulturkirche serves as a concert hall with warm acoustics. Schulplatz and Kirchplatz are used for open-air readings: readings under the open sky at the Schinkel monument, with a view of the lake, are one of the festival's hallmarks. The organizers have deliberately avoided confining the festival to a single hall — Neuruppin itself becomes the stage.

Tickets and Practical Information

Tickets for individual events are sold through the festival website (fontane-kosmos.de). Neuruppin is easily accessible from Berlin via the RE 6 train in just over an hour — the festival weekend can be planned as a long day trip from Berlin. Those who wish to stay longer will find hotels by the lake, in the old town, and in the surrounding area. The Pentecost dates make the festival a natural family program — readings, walks, concerts, and discovering Fontane-Land.