Issumer Kirmes and Schützenfest

Issumer Kirmes and Schützenfest 2026 — Five Days of Lower Rhine Tradition

When the amusement rides are set up on the Vogt-von-Belle-Platz and the large marquee is erected on the second weekend of September 2026, Issum's most important festival of the year begins. The Issumer Kirmes and Schützenfest has been a hallmark of the Lower Rhine brewing community for generations — five festival days from September 12 to 16, 2026 combine fairground tradition, marksmen's customs, and fraternity culture.

Program 2026 — Day by Day

Friday, September 12, 2026 — 13th Issumer Oktoberfest

• Kick-off of the Kirmes days with the 13th Issumer Oktoberfest in the marquee
• Bavarian music, dirndls, lederhosen, Oktoberfest beer
• Grand opening weekend

Saturday, September 13, 2026 — Pea Soup and Ball

• Lunchtime: traditional pea soup lunch by the fraternities — one of Issum's oldest Kirmes traditions
• Evening: Grand ball in the marquee with live band

Sunday, September 14, 2026 — Parade and King's Gala Ball

• Afternoon: Grand parade of the fraternities through Issum, with marching bands and the king's carriage
• Evening: King's Gala Ball in the marquee — the festive highlight of the festival

Monday, September 15, 2026 — Morning Pint and Receptions

• Morning pint reception in the marquee
• Evening reception and fraternity receptions in the late afternoon
• Dancing and club evenings

Tuesday, September 16, 2026 — Festival Finale

• Kettenhüteranklang: ceremonial handover or return of the marksmen's chain
• Festival conclusion in the marquee

King 2025: Sebastian Stockhorst

The reigning Issum marksmen's king is Sebastian Stockhorst. He was proclaimed last year during the bird shooting at Vogt-von-Belle-Platz and will represent the Issum fraternities internally and externally for one year. The new king for 2026 will likely be determined during the bird shooting on the main Kirmes weekend.

Vogt-von-Belle-Platz — The Festival Grounds

The Vogt-von-Belle-Platz is located in the center of Issum and is named after the last Electorate of Cologne Vogt of the Lordship of Issum. During the Kirmes, the square is closed to traffic and equipped with a large marquee, amusement rides, a shooting gallery, and food stalls. Outside of the Kirmes, it serves as a marketplace and occasionally hosts other village festivals.

Bruderschaften Issum (Issum Fraternities)

The Bruderschaften Issum are a joint body of the three local marksmen's fraternities that jointly organize the Kirmes and Schützenfest. They maintain the centuries-old tradition of bird shooting, king proclamations, and receptions — and see themselves as active both religiously (St. Sebastianus, St. Hubertus) and in civil society. Program and background information at bruderschaften-issum.de.

Issum — Brewing Community on the Lower Lower Rhine

The municipality of Issum, with around 12,000 inhabitants, is located in the district of Kleve on the lower Lower Rhine, between Geldern and Moers. It is known for the traditional Diebels Brewery (now part of the AB-InBev group), whose Issumer Alt flowed at Vogt-von-Belle-Platz for decades. The Kirmes is the municipality's most important annual festival — it brings together Issum residents, returnees from the Ruhr area and the Lower Rhine, and creates an extraordinary village festival atmosphere. A smaller sister Kirmes also takes place annually in the district of Sevelen.