Johannisfest & Fête de la Musique Liebenwalde

Summer Solstice in the Rectory Garden

Liebenwalde, the small town 50 km north of Berlin in the Oberhavel district, has preserved its own Pentecost and summer festival format. The Johannisfest on June 21st — the summer solstice and at the same time the international Fête de la Musique day — combines church tradition (St. John's Day, June 24th, is the birthday of John the Baptist) with contemporary music culture. Venue: the rectory garden at Marktplatz 3, a green, ecclesiastical courtyard in the town center.

Schedule: Devotion, Coffee, Music

From 3 p.m., the festival begins with coffee, cake, grilled sausage and drinks. Alongside this, a children's program and a short devotion. From 4:30 p.m., the live music starts: the primary school's children's choir opens, followed by the acoustic duo Misha & Nastja, the Kulturkirche choir (also called Kulturkirchenchor) and the folk band Jamestown Ferry. A mix of amateurs and professionals that perfectly captures the rectory garden atmosphere.

Fête de la Musique — the East German Component

The Fête de la Musique is an international custom that, since 1982 in France, invites all musicians every year on June 21st to play in public free of charge. Liebenwalde links this with the German Johannisfest — a typical East German example of the combination of tradition and cultural-political renewal after 1990.

Liebenwalde and the Surrounding Oberhavel Area

Those who visit the Johannisfest often combine it with a walk around Liebenwalde Lake or an excursion to the nearby Lehnitz Lake. Liebenwalde can be reached in about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Berlin-Lichtenberg via the RB12 train.