Gersheim Cultural Days

From Theatre Week to Cultural Festival

What began in 1988 as the "Gersheimer Theaterwoche" (Gersheim Theatre Week) is now a significant cultural showcase in the south of the Saarpfalz district: the Gersheim Cultural Days. Since 2025, the festival has officially borne the new name — justified by the programme structure, which has long since outgrown its origins as a mere theatre week. A three-week season, a mix of theatre, cabaret, music, puppet theatre, and modern poetry, held at the Kulturhaus Gersheim.

Gersheim — the Southern Bliesgau

The municipality of Gersheim is located on the southern edge of Saarland, nestled within the UNESCO Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve. A region of scattered orchards, calcareous grasslands, castle ruins, and small villages where life — with Saarland's characteristic laconicism — ticks along a little slower. It is precisely in this atmosphere that the Kulturhaus Gersheim provides a cultural counterpoint: ambitious programming, high quality, international and regional acts. With over 900 visitors in its 38th edition, the festival has remarkable reach for a community of this size.

Programme Genres

The Cultural Days bring together various stage forms under one roof:

• Theatre — from the local group Sodom und Gomorrha from Herbitzheim to dialect plays by the French Association Théâtrale de Grundviller and modern productions
• Cabaret & Comedy — guests such as Munich cabaret artist Holger Paetz with his year-in-review, and football comedian Uwe Spinder
• Puppet and Children's Theatre — Bärbel's neues Kindertheater had its stage premiere here in 2026
• Modern Poetry — The Gersheimer Orchidee (Gersheim Orchid) is now a respected poetry slam competition (2026: 4th edition, won by Evgenija Kosov from Bochum)
• Music — Song and chanson evenings, acoustic acts

Border Culture in its Purest Form

Remarkable: Gersheim is located right on the French border. Bliesbruck (FR) and Reinheim (DE) are direct neighbours, and the cross-border European Cultural Park connects Celtic and Roman sites from both countries. This location is reflected in the programme: French theatre troupes from Lorraine are regular guests, some dialect plays are offered bilingually, and the audience comes equally from Saarland and Lorraine.

A Success Story from Small Saarland

What the Gersheim Cultural Days demonstrate: Ambitious cultural work exists even outside Saarland's major cities. The municipality of Gersheim, with its approximately 6,500 inhabitants, thus maintains an astonishing cultural anchor — supported by the mayor, the cultural office, and a dedicated team of volunteers. The next Cultural Days (39th edition) have already been announced for January 2027.