Kirchheimer Kerwe Heidelberg

District Festival in Southern Heidelberg

Kirchheim is one of Heidelberg's largest and oldest districts, located in the south of the university city between the Old Town and the Schwetzingen town border. With around 16,500 inhabitants, Kirchheim has a strong sense of district identity and its own Kerweplatz tradition. From September 11 to 13, 2026, the Kirchheimer Kerwe — the district's annual Kirchweih (traditional fair) — will take place at the Kerweplatz, Hegenichstraße 2A, right by the Kirchheim Community Center.

Three Days of Club Program

The organizer is the Kirchheim District Association. Throughout the weekend, local clubs set up their stalls — catering with bratwurst, fries, Palatinate specialties (Kirchheim is on the Kurpfalz border), drinks from beer to wine tasting. A stage at the Kerweplatz hosts the musical program: local bands, cover bands, sometimes club music groups, or DJs in the late evening. The atmosphere is clearly district-focused — not a tourist event, but a real district Kirchweih for the residents of Kirchheim and their guests from the Heidelberg area.

Position in the Heidelberg Kerwe Cycle

Heidelberg maintains a rich tradition of district Kerwen: Over the late summer and autumn weekends, various district Kerwen follow one another — Hendsemer Kerwe in Handschuhsheim (June 20–22), Bleelumbe-Kerwe Ziegelhausen (July 17–18), Fischerfest Neuenheim, Rohrbacher Kerwe, Weststadtfest (all September 4–6), Kirchheimer Kerwe (September 11–13), Pfaffengrunder Stadtteilfest (September 18–20), Neckarfest Wieblingen (September 25–27). Kirchheim is thus one of the central weekends in Heidelberg's district festival calendar.

Kirchheim and Southern Heidelberg

Heidelberg, in the Heidelberg district of the state of Baden-Württemberg, is a world-class university city — the Old Town with its castle and university is internationally famous. Kirchheim, as a southern district, has its own profile: a former farming village, it became part of Heidelberg through incorporation in 1920, retaining a palpable village identity, a vibrant club scene, and the annual Kerwe as a unifying element. The Kirchheimer Kerwe is an example that Heidelberg's culture is not just about Old Town tourism, but also about lively district life with Palatinate festival traditions.