Hell Festival

From insider tip to a must-attend event for the scene

What began in 2016 as a small event in Mansfeld-Südharz has become a fixture in the European Hardstyle and Hardcore scene within a few years. The Hell Festival takes place at the Kelbra reservoir – a nature reserve on the edge of the Kyffhäuser Mountains, which becomes an open-air stage, campsite, and party zone during the festival season. Almost 200 artists perform on six floors over four days, ranging from classic Hardstyle to Rawstyle, Hardcore, Frenchcore, Uptempo, and Terror.

The setting is part of its identity: no industrial wasteland, no exhibition hall, but a lake with a beach, meadows, and forests, in the middle of the hilly landscape of Saxony-Anhalt. The Mansfeld-Südharz district, otherwise known for Lutherstadt Eisleben and Sangerhausen, becomes a meeting point for an international community for a long weekend, a community that supports its festival with great loyalty.

Six floors, one lake — Program philosophy

The Hell Festival focuses on maximum stylistic breadth within the harder genres of electronic music. Each of the six floors is dedicated to a subgenre – the main stage for the big Hardstyle headliners, with other stages for Hardcore, Uptempo, Frenchcore, and more experimental styles. The curatorial line is consistent: no commercial EDM acts, no pop crossovers, but a four-day celebration of hardness.

Camping, reservoir, Kyffhäuser myth

Camping is an integral part of the festival, located directly by the reservoir. Most visitors arrive on Wednesday or Thursday evening and stay until Sunday lunchtime. VIP camping with comfort options is complemented by standard festival camping and rental premium tents. The reservoir itself invites visitors for a swim between sets, and the Kyffhäuser Monument towers over the landscape on the horizon – a piece of German history as a backdrop for a very contemporary festival.