Gießener Musikalischer Sommer

A festival that the city itself plays

While commercial festivals are always looking for bigger names and headliners, Gießen chose a different path almost 50 years ago. The Musikalischer Sommer is a festival featuring exclusively local bands from Gießen and the district. Since 1976, the municipal cultural office has transformed two special venues into stages for the local music scene every summer: the Schiffenberg monastery courtyard and the StadtRaumBühne in the middle of the city center.

Schiffenberg — Monastery becomes concert arena

The Schiffenberg Monastery is located on a hill southeast of Gießen, founded in the 12th century as an Augustinian priory and has since been an important pilgrimage and meeting place for the region. In the covered monastery courtyard, an intimate and acoustically high-quality performance situation is created for the concert evenings. A stage area of 8 × 6 meters offers space for bands, choirs, and big bands.

StadtRaumBühne — Music in the city

The second venue is located in the city center: The StadtRaumBühne is a technically fully equipped open-air stage that remains set up for several weeks during the summer. Here, bands play for strolling passers-by, creating a completely different atmosphere than at Schiffenberg – more urban, more spontaneous, with an audience that comes by and stops to listen.

Programmatic breadth without genre boundaries

The program ranges from Rock and Pop to Blues, Jazz, Hip-Hop, World Music, as well as choirs, big bands, and brass bands. What all acts have in common: They come from Gießen or the district and must apply anew each year. A one-year break after each performance ensures that the program rotates and new bands get a chance on stage. This support philosophy makes the Musikalischer Sommer an important platform for the Hessian Middle Hesse music scene.

50 Years in 2026 — Anniversary Summer

In 2026, the Musikalischer Sommer celebrates its 50th anniversary. A special date on July 4, 2026, will be particularly celebrated. The exact program for the anniversary summer will be communicated by the cultural office before the start of the season. The city of Gießen sponsors stage technology, insurance, and marketing – the artists perform without a fee and benefit from the performance opportunity and attention.

Free admission — a civic concept

The entire festival is accessible free of charge. There are also free parking spaces at Schiffenberg. Catering is provided by local clubs and gastronomic partners. The format is an expression of the city's conscious cultural policy approach: music belongs in public spaces.