Hattingen Old Town Festival

Hattingen's Pentecost Festival in the Half-Timbered Old Town

If you want to know what a well-curated old town festival in the Ruhr area looks like, head to Hattingen on the last weekend in May. The southwestern corner city of the Ennepe-Ruhr district (around 53,000 inhabitants) transforms its listed half-timbered old town into a three-day festival mile from May 29 to 31, 2026. The Hattingen Old Town Festival is considered the Volksfest highlight of the region and is internally referred to as the "Festival of Festivals" — a self-description that underscores the city's self-confidence.

2026 — New Concept, Denser Program

The 2026 edition marks a conscious reorientation: fewer large technical stages, and a denser program. The previously central Bunker Stage has been completely removed for 2026. Instead, the program focuses on three main performance venues and several smaller accompanying locations. The result: more movement through the festival, less large-stage atmosphere, more city character.

Sparkassen Stage at Kirchplatz — The Heart

The Sparkassen Stage at Kirchplatz is the center of the festival. On the program: local bands like Exback and Silly Souls of Music, comedy performances (including Helmut Sanftenschneider), and the musical highlight: Pfefferminzprinz, the Westernhagen tribute band, on Saturday evening. Pfefferminzprinz has been one of the most sought-after cover bands in NRW for years and regularly fills larger venues.

DJ Stage at Krämersdorf

Those who don't want to listen to rock and covers can switch to the DJ Stage at Krämersdorf. Here, House and Dance sets are played: Tim Siegmann and DJane Jolina on Saturday, Quicksilver on Sunday. The stage is open and caters to the festival's younger dance culture.

Kleinkunstbühne Steinhagen — "Back to the Roots"

A new, cabaret-oriented zone with the slogan "Back to the Roots" is being created along the city wall in the Steinhagen area in 2026. Here, Market, Art, and Culinary combine: eight bands over the three festival days will play a mixed program of regional and international acts, alongside market stalls, arts and crafts, and gastronomic specialties. This zone replaces the former Bunker Stage and is the clearest programmatic innovation of the 2026 edition.

Other Locations and Family Program

The Kleines Café will host a private program. DJ Givara will play daily in the Bermuda Triangle. The Kleine Weilstraße is the venue for local organizational initiatives. For families, the Sparkassen-Kinderland will move to the Untermarkt in 2026 — with play areas and the mobile LWL Museum, which presents industrial culture themes in a child-friendly way.

Georg Hartmann's Last Festival

A biographical note marks the 2026 edition: it is the last Old Town Festival under the organizational leadership of Georg Hartmann, who is retiring after 14 years as festival organizer. Hartmann has shaped and designed the format — the 2026 reorientation is explicitly his legacy: a denser, more intimate festival without a large-spectacle character.

Hattingen's Old Town — The Festival's Backdrop

Hattingen's old town is a gem of the Ruhr area — a nearly completely preserved half-timbered ensemble from the 14th to 18th centuries, which largely escaped the bombing war. Winding alleys, crooked half-timbered houses, the late Gothic Kirchplatz with St. Georg's Church — the backdrop makes the Old Town Festival more than just a Volksfest. You wander through the Middle Ages and listen to Westernhagen songs.