Heidelberg Castle Festival

A Hundred Years of Castle Festivals

In the summer of 1926 – the Weimar Republic seemed newly stabilized, the German Chamber Orchestra was establishing itself, and Heidelberg was already Germany's tourist landmark – the Heidelberg Festival took place for the first time in the courtyard of Heidelberg Castle. Over a century, this initiative has grown into one of Germany's most significant summer theatre festivals. The 2026 season marks the 100th anniversary – an occasion that the Heidelberg Theatre and Orchestra is honouring with a special programme.

Three Venues in the Castle Ruins

Heidelberg Castle – that famous castle ruin above the Neckar River, one of Germany's most photographed sights – offers three very different performance venues: The Castle Courtyard is the central open-air stage with seating for around 1,500 spectators, featuring the Gothic-Renaissance castle façade as a backdrop. The "Dicker Turm", one of the defensive towers, provides a smaller, more intimate stage for spoken word theatre. The "Englischer Bau", one of the surviving Renaissance structures, is used for chamber music and literary productions.

Programme Highlights 2026

The opening on June 14, 2026, is the premiere of "Frankenstein" based on Mary Shelley – a contemporary theatre adaptation in the "Dicker Turm". On June 19, the premiere of Edmond Rostand's romantic comedy "Cyrano de Bergerac" follows in the Castle Courtyard – one of the major summer productions. On July 10, Georges Bizet's "Carmen" returns to the stage, with the production being revived in the Castle Courtyard. The grand finale is the Gala Concert "Addio!" on August 1 and 2 – a two-day opera gala with solo performances by Heidelberg's soloists and guest singers.

Anniversary Programme: Centenary Tour and Exhibition

Two special formats are running specifically for the 100th anniversary: The Theatrical Centenary Tour starts on July 1 and takes the audience through 100 years of festival history – a theatrical city tour through the castle and Heidelberg's Old Town, with stops where key moments of the festival are dramatically reenacted. In parallel, the exhibition in the "Ottheinrichsbau" displays historical documents, photographs, posters, and costumes from the history of the Castle Festival.

Heidelberg Theatre and Orchestra

The organizer is the Heidelberg Theatre and Orchestra – Heidelberg's multi-disciplinary city theatre with its own drama, dance, opera, and concert departments. The Castle Festival is its summer production par excellence: over four weeks, premieres, revivals, concerts, and events are spread out, supported by the resident ensemble plus international guest artists. In recent years, the Heidelberg Theatre has earned a reputation for sophisticated, contemporary productions.

Heidelberg and the Castle

Heidelberg is a university city in the Rhine-Neckar district of Baden-Württemberg, with around 160,000 inhabitants. Heidelberg Castle – seat of the Palatinate Electors until the 17th century, later destroyed by French troops – is one of Germany's most visited sights with over a million visitors annually. Those who attend the Castle Festival combine the performance with a castle tour, a walk through Heidelberg's Old Town, and dinner at one of the traditional establishments around the market square.