Hansefest Gardelegen

Hanseatic City with a Long Tradition

Gardelegen is located in the northwest of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Altmark district of Salzwedel (AGS 15081), and is one of the oldest Hanseatic cities in the region. The city fortifications with their towers and walls from the 13th century are largely preserved — and it is precisely within these walls that the Hansefest has taken place every year in September since 1999. The Hanseatic city itself is the organizer, and MDR (Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk) has been the media partner over the years.

Seven Stages, One City Center

What makes the Hansefest special is its distribution across the entire old town: every square and every alley gets its own character. The Holzmarkt is the rock, pop, and MDR party stage. The Nicolaistraße transforms into an Irish alley with folk sessions for three days. At the Aschberg, acrobats, fire artists, and jugglers perform — pure street art. Regional artists from the Altmark play in front of the Rathaus. In the Lindenhofgarten, Kulturwerk Ost offers workshops and hands-on activities, the Rudolf-Harbig-Sportplatz is the children's zone with bouncy castles, and the Tivoli-Platz hosts the Ferris wheel and carousels.

27th Edition — September 18-20, 2026

The Hanseatic city of Gardelegen lies between Magdeburger Börde and Altmark-Heide, just under 70 km north of Magdeburg. Visitors to the Hansefest can combine a high-quality, free city festival program with a stroll through one of the most beautiful preserved medieval cities in Northern Germany. The opening is traditionally on Friday evening at 7:30 PM on the MDR stage, and the program runs until Sunday afternoon.