Göttingen Civic and Marksmen Festival — Jahnstadion Volksfest

Folk Festival as an Extension of the Marksmen Festival

In recent years, the Bürger-Schützen-Gesellschaft Göttingen has expanded the traditional Civic and Marksmen Festival to include folk festival elements. Instead of exclusively offering the festival tent with stage program and catering, the entire fairgrounds at Jahnstadion are transformed into a folk festival – with rides, carousels, shooting galleries, and food stalls. This clearly positions the event as an occasion for the entire citizenry, not just a club festival.

The Fairgrounds Concept

The festival grounds at Jahnstadion offer ample space for several large rides, smaller carousels for the youngest visitors, shooting galleries, dice games, prize games, and an extensive food mile. This creates a classic folk festival offering, as known from the large amusement parks in the region – but on a manageable scale and with a family-friendly character.

Schedule on June 4, 2026

On Thursday, June 4, 2026, the rides and food stalls will open as the kick-off to the extended festival period. The actual Civic and Marksmen Festival with the festival tent, parade, and proclamation of the king will follow from June 19 to 23, 2026. This creates two separate festival phases: first the folk festival kick-off offering, later the central festival week.

Combining Tradition and Folk Festival

The expansion of the historic Civic and Marksmen Festival with folk festival elements follows a conscious strategy by the Bürger-Schützen-Gesellschaft to combine tradition with the contemporary expectations of young families and visitors. While the marksmen's mass, parade, and proclamation of the king preserve the historical core, the folk festival on the fairgrounds creates low-threshold opportunities for interaction and a family-friendly entertainment offering.