Kerpen Stadtfest with Wine Market

City Festival in the Kolpingstadt

The Kolpingstadt Kerpen — birthplace of the social reformer and priest Adolph Kolping — celebrates its three-day city festival from July 3rd to 5th, 2026. The organizer is the AGK Aktionsgemeinschaft Kolpingstadt Kerpen, which brings together the retailers, restaurateurs, and service providers of the city center. The festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors from the entire Rhein-Erft district to Kerpen every year.

Wine Days at Stiftsplatz

The heart of the festival are the Wine Days on Stiftsplatz — from Friday, July 3rd, starting at 5 PM until Sunday, July 5th, 10 PM. At the stands, vintners from several German wine-growing regions offer their wines by the glass. The historic atmosphere of Stiftsplatz with the nearby St. Martinus collegiate church forms the backdrop. Live bands play every day at the "Zum Trompeter" inn on Stiftsplatz.

Lifestyle Market and Car Show

On Hahnenstraße — the shopping street running parallel to Stiftsplatz — a large lifestyle market with stalls offering fashion, home decor, jewelry, gourmet products, and services is set up. Right next to it, several car brands — in recent years BMW, VW, Toyota, Honda, and others — present their latest models in an open-air car show.

Sunday Shopping

On Sunday, July 5th, the city center will have its Sunday shopping hours from 1 PM to 6 PM. The shops on Hahnenstraße, Kölner Straße, and the side streets open their doors, taking advantage of the city festival crowds. For many families, this date is the summer highlight in the Kerpen calendar.

Live Music at "Trompeter"

The musical highlights — as extensively described in the Rheinische Anzeigenblätter report — are concentrated at the "Zum Trompeter" inn, directly on Stiftsplatz. Cover bands like "Die Donnerloch Boyz" and traditional brass music on Sunday morning shape the musical landscape. This distinguishes Kerpen from the typical stage festival setup of many city festivals — the live music remains background ambiance rather than a front-and-center program.

AGK as the Organizing Association

The AGK Aktionsgemeinschaft Kolpingstadt Kerpen has been the driving force behind the city festival for years. It organizes the festival together with the city and local associations. Program and exhibitor information are communicated via agk-kerpen.de and the Rheinische Anzeigenblätter.