Gildefest Erfde

Over 300 years of marksmen's tradition

The Scheibengilde Erfde was founded in 1709, making it one of the oldest marksmen's guilds in Schleswig-Holstein. A sisterly Vogelgilde (bird guild) complements the club life — both guilds celebrate their festival alternately in a two-year cycle, so that a Gildefest takes place in Erfde every year. The history of the guilds is the history of the Erfde village community.

A week after Pentecost

The Gildefest takes place annually in the full week after Pentecost — a tradition that has been unbroken since 1840. In the 2026 Pentecost calendar (Pentecost May 24/25), the festival falls on the week of June 1 to 6, 2026. Since the Vogelgilde hosted in 2024, it is the Scheibengilde that will lead the festival in 2026.

Program structure

An Erfde Gildefest follows a sequence that has evolved over generations:

• Mon/Tue: Assembling of the guild, first competitions
• Wed: Bird or target shooting, depending on the hosting guild
• Thu: Grand festive parade through the village, children's guild
• Fri: Dance evening with live band
• Sat: Festive ceremony with proclamation, gala evening
• Sun: Family finale and farewell

Stapelholm identity

Erfde is the largest municipality in the Stapelholm landscape region — a flat region characterized by marsh and geest between the Treene and Eider rivers, in the northern district of Schleswig-Flensburg. The region cultivates a strong cultural identity: Low German, traditional costumes, singing societies, and marksmen's guilds are part of its self-image. The Erfde Gildefest is one of the most important identity events in the region — alongside the Stapelholmer Heimat-, Sänger- und Trachtenfest (Stapelholm Homeland, Singing, and Costume Festival), which the municipality organizes additionally.

Erfde and its five districts

The municipality of Erfde with its districts Bargen, Ekel, Erfderfeld, Grevenhorst, and Scheppern has around 2,500 inhabitants and an active club life — youth center, sports hall, swimming pool, inline skating rink, and sports boat harbor at the Bargen Eider crossing. The Gildefest brings all these structures together once a year for a festival week.