Gummersbacher Schützenfest

Gummersbacher Schützenfest — over 190 years of tradition

From June 13 to 16, 2026, the Gummersbacher Schützenverein von 1833 e.V. (GSV 1833) will celebrate its annual four-day Schützenfest. Four festival days, Friday to Monday — crown shooting, king's shooting, grand festival parade, and coronation ball — make the Gummersbach festival the largest Schützenfest in the northern district of Oberbergisches Land. The club was founded in 1833, looking back on over 190 years of club tradition.

GSV 1833 — the club

The GSV 1833 is one of the most traditional shooting clubs in the Oberbergisches Land. Over 190 years of history, dozens of king couples, a long line of former club chairmen, and a dense network of members and their families — this shapes the club to this day. The GSV's office is located in the clubhouse in Gummersbach (P.O. Box 100463, 51604 Gummersbach), and past festival booklets document the club's history.

Four-day festival program

The Schützenfest follows a fixed, time-tested schedule:

• Friday, June 13 — Opening evening: March of the marksmen, welcome at the festival grounds, opening program in the festival tent, first shooting competitions (dignitaries)
• Saturday, June 14 — Main concert day with live music in the festival tent, further shooting competitions, guard performances
• Sunday, June 15 — Grand festival parade in the morning through Gummersbach, in the afternoon king's shooting with announcement of the new majesties, in the evening coronation ball with a band
• Monday, June 16 — Winding-down festival with morning pint, family day, small children's events, festival finale in the evening

King's shooting — the central moment

The king's shooting on Sunday afternoon is the moving highlight of every Schützenfest. All club members step up and try to shoot down the last splinters of the traditional wooden bird with precise shots. Whoever takes the decisive shot becomes the new Schützenkönig (king) — and thus the official representative of the club for one year. The coronation in the evening in the festival tent is the social highlight — with the king couple, court, guard, and music.

Festival booklet and preparation

As is tradition in the Rhineland shooting club scene, GSV publishes a Festival Booklet 2026, which will be available from May 15, 2026, in Gummersbach shops. It contains the complete program, a club chronicle of the year, sponsor advertisements, and greetings. For club members, it is a mandatory souvenir; for those interested, it is a good introduction to the world of Oberbergisches shooting.

Gummersbach — Capital of the Oberbergisches

Gummersbach is the district town of the Oberbergischer Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, with around 50,000 inhabitants. It is located between Cologne and the Bergisches Land, transitioning into the Sauerland. The town is also famous for VfL Gummersbach — the once legendary handball Bundesliga club — and for its location on the Aggertal valley. The Schützenfest is one of the town's most important Volksfeste (popular festivals) — a fixed date in the June calendar.