Gäubodenvolksfest Straubing
Bavaria's second-largest folk festival – eleven days of the '5th Season' in Lower Bavaria
About Gäubodenvolksfest
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Bavaria's Second-Largest Folk Festival
The Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing is, after Munich's Oktoberfest, Bavaria's largest folk festival. With around 1.3 million visitors annually, 7 festival tents with approximately 27,500 seats, 130 rides, and about 80 live bands, it is one of Germany's largest folk festivals. The venue is the Festplatz Am Hagen on the outskirts of the Lower Bavarian city of Straubing, a city of around 47,000 inhabitants on the Danube.
Tradition Since 1812
The Gäubodenvolksfest dates back to an agricultural festival initiative: in 1812, King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria granted the people of Straubing permission to hold an agricultural festival in the then Unterdonaukreis. From this agrarian origin – the Gäuboden region is one of Bavaria's most fertile arable farming landscapes – the second-largest folk festival in Bavaria developed over more than two centuries, preserving its rural Bavarian character to this day.
Parade, Festival Tents, and Ostbayernschau
The folk festival opens on the first Friday in August with a traditional parade of around 2,000 participants. Traditional costume groups, drum corps, brass bands, historical wagons, and Straubing clubs march from the city center to the festival grounds. In the row of festival tents – Nothaft, Wenisch, Karmeliten, Aukofer, Pichlmaier, Hirzinger, Schiermeier – brass music, Bavarian Schlager, and party bands alternate. Directly next to the festival grounds, the Ostbayernschau opens its doors: 600 exhibitors in 16 halls on 60,000 m² of exhibition space – the largest consumer exhibition in Eastern Bavaria with free admission.
Cultural Supporting Program
In conjunction with the folk festival, the city of Straubing organizes around 70 events covering culture, sports, and traditions. Concerts in the festival tents, family concerts, sports events, traditional costume evenings, and the traditional folk festival shooting competition round off the program.
- 1.3 million visitors per edition
- Seven festival tents with around 27,500 seats
- 130 rides and showman businesses
- Approximately 80 live bands over the eleven festival days
- Opening parade with around 2,000 participants
- Parallel Ostbayernschau on 60,000 m²
The state of Bavaria and the Lower Bavarian Danube region around Straubing strongly identify with their folk festival: 'Gäubodenvolksfest' is a term in Lower Bavaria for lived Bavarian festival culture beyond the tourist-driven Oktoberfest cliché.
Gäubodenvolksfest — edition 2026
From August 7 to 17, 2026, the Festplatz Am Hagen in Straubing will once again transform into Lower Bavaria's largest folk festival. The traditional parade on Friday, August 7, kicks things off: around 2,000 participants from traditional costume groups, drum corps, and Straubing associations march from the city center to the festival grounds, ushering in the '5th Season'.
In the seven festival tents – Nothaft, Wenisch, Karmeliten, Aukofer, Pichlmaier, Hirzinger, and Schiermeier – around 80 brass bands and party bands alternate over eleven days. Approximately 130 showmen offer rides, stalls, and catering. In parallel, the Ostbayernschau opens from August 8 to 16, 2026, daily from 9 am to 6 pm, with 600 exhibitors on 60,000 m² – free admission. In conjunction, the city of Straubing organizes around 70 events covering culture, sports, and traditions.
Programme Gäubodenvolksfest 2026
Key Dates 2026
- Friday, August 7, 2026: Parade with approx. 2,000 participants, followed by festival opening
- Saturday, August 8 to Sunday, August 16, 2026: Parallel Ostbayernschau, daily 9 am-6 pm
- During the entire festival: 80 live bands in the 7 festival tents, 130 rides
- Accompanying program: approx. 70 events covering culture, sports, and traditions
- Monday, August 17, 2026: Festival concludes
Highlights Gäubodenvolksfest 2026
- Parade on the opening Friday with approx. 2,000 participants
- Seven festival tents with around 27,500 seats
- Around 80 live bands over eleven festival days
- 130 rides and showman businesses
- Parallel Ostbayernschau on 60,000 m² with 600 exhibitors
- Bavaria's second-largest folk festival with 1.3 million visitors
Prices Gäubodenvolksfest 2026
Admission to the festival grounds and the Ostbayernschau is free. In the festival tents, a Maß of beer costs approx. €12-14, meals start at approx. €12. Grandstand tickets for the opening parade are available from the Straubing Tourist Information. Table reservations directly with the tent hosts (e.g., festzelt-nothaft.de).
Practical information — Gäubodenvolksfest
Getting There
Straubing is located on the A3 motorway (Munich–Passau), exit Straubing. By train via the Regensburg–Passau line (direct connections from Munich, Nuremberg, Regensburg). During the folk festival, special buses run to the festival grounds. Parking spaces are signposted but scarce on peak days – public transport recommended.
Admission
Admission to the festival grounds is free. Food and drinks in the festival tents at folk festival prices (Maß of beer approx. €12-14). Grandstand tickets for the opening parade are available from the Straubing Tourist Information. Ostbayernschau: Free admission, open August 8-16, 2026, daily 9 am-6 pm.
Tip
Table reservations in the festival tents can be made directly with the respective tent hosts (e.g., festzelt-nothaft.de) and become scarce towards the end of the advance booking period. For the opening parade on the first Friday, arriving early or purchasing grandstand tickets is recommended.
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Travel to this festival
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Where it takes place Gäubodenvolksfest
Festplatz Am Hagen
Am Hagen 75, 94315 Straubing