Bad Säckingen Fridolinsfest & Fridolinsrummel

The Relic Procession of Saint Fridolin

Bad Säckingen, picturesquely located on the High Rhine between Basel and Waldshut, has venerated Saint Fridolin since the 6th century – an Irish-Scottish travelling missionary who founded the original convent on the Rhine. The Fridolinsfest is one of the oldest continuously celebrated patronage festivals in Central Europe. The central event is the procession of the Fridolin shrine, a 6-hundredweight (approx. 300 kg) elaborately decorated silver shrine from the 18th century, which holds the saint's relics. Eight bearers in historical costumes carry the shrine through the old town – from the Fridolinsmünster via the Münsterplatz and the Steinbrücke back to the Münster.

Dates 2026: Funfair from March 2nd–10th, Festival Days March 6th and 8th

In 2026, the Fridolinsfest falls on March 6th and 8th. The Fridolinsrummel begins on Monday, March 2nd, and ends on Tuesday, March 10th. For all nine days, the festival grounds at Schlosspark open daily from 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM with 20+ showmen. Rides, carousels, shooting galleries, crêpe stands, and food stalls cater to visitors. On Friday, March 6th, the actual Fridolinstag, the large market with over 90 stalls opens at 8:00 AM along Scheffelstraße and Aushilfsstraße until 6:00 PM – handicrafts, regional products, fashion, toys, local specialties. The day culminates in the festive church service in the Fridolinsmünster.

Sunday, March 8th: Procession Day

The Sunday after Fridolinstag is the traditional procession day. In 2026, this is March 8th. After the Pontifical High Mass in the Fridolinsmünster – celebrated by the Archbishop of Freiburg – the procession forms: costume groups from Swiss neighboring communities (Glarus, which also venerates Fridolin as its patron, sends its own delegation), altar servers, music bands, clergy, the eight shrine bearers with the silver shrine, and finally the faithful. The procession circles through the old town and returns to the Münster after 90 minutes. Thousands of faithful and onlookers line the route. Afterwards, the shrine is open for veneration in the Münster for an afternoon.

Funfair with 20+ Showmen

Parallel to the religious program, the funfair runs as a popular festival element of the event. Carousels spin, dodgems rumble, and shooting galleries flash on the Schlosspark festival grounds. Over 20 showmen from Southern Germany and Switzerland have held permanent spots at the Fridolinsrummel for decades – some families have been participating for three generations. The food stalls offer everything from classic bratwurst rolls to Swiss raclette, chestnuts, and candied almonds.

Trumpeter Town on the High Rhine

Bad Säckingen became known regionally through Joseph Victor von Scheffel's epic poem "Der Trompeter von Säckingen" (1854) and the later opera. The historic wooden bridge over the Rhine – the longest wooden bridge in Europe – connects the town with the Swiss town of Stein. The location between the Black Forest and Switzerland, combined with the baroque Münster and the centuries-old festival tradition, makes Bad Säckingen a meeting point for pilgrims, families, and onlookers from three countries every March.