Kirchweihfest St. Hubertus Sundern

394 Years of Marksmen Tradition

The St. Hubertus Schützenbruderschaft Sundern 1631 e.V. is one of the oldest marksmen's associations in the Gütersloh district — founded in the year 1631, making it almost four centuries old. It is based in the Sundern district of Gütersloh, a rural district in the south of the city. One of the most important annual highlights for the association is the Kirchweihfest — a combination of Christian customs (consecration of the local church), marksmen's tradition, and a district festival.

August 28-29, 2026 — Two-Day Kirchweihfest

The 2026 edition runs on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29, 2026 in the Sundern district. The traditional format of a Westphalian Kirchweihfest includes:

• Festival opening on Friday evening with the marksmen assembling
• Festival mass / Consecration mass as the religious core of the festival — consecration of the local church, led by the pastor
• Festival parade of the marksmen through Sundern
• Festival tent program with live music, dancing, and culinary stands
• King's shooting competition of the marksmen's association, often on Saturday afternoon
• King's ball on Saturday evening with the crowning of the new king and queen

Kirchweihfest — What It Means

The Kirchweihfest commemorates the consecration of the local church and is an important annual festival in many Catholic regions of Germany. In Westphalia, it is often closely linked with marksmen's customs — the Schützenbruderschaft, as a Catholic-traditional association, takes on the organization of the festival, which was originally purely a parish festival tradition. This creates the typical combination of a religious background and an association-driven folk festival.

St. Hubertus — The Patron Saint of Hunters and Marksmen

St. Hubertus is the traditional patron saint of hunters and marksmen. The Sundern association has borne his name since its founding in 1631 — a time when assigning a patron saint's name expressed the Catholic identity of the association. The legend of Hubertus — the hunter who saw a stag with a cross between its antlers — is one of the iconic images of Christian tradition.

Sundern — The District in the South of Gütersloh

Sundern is a southern district of Gütersloh, rural in character, with its own identity and active community life. The St. Hubertus marksmen's association shapes the life of the district — in addition to the Kirchweihfest, it organizes the Schützenfest, participates in the Corpus Christi procession, maintains the club house, and fosters the social network in the neighborhood.

Gütersloh and Its Marksmen Tradition

In the Gütersloh district and Ostwestfalen-Lippe as a whole, the marksmen's tradition is particularly strong. Dozens of marksmen's clubs — such as the St. Hubertus Spexard Schützenbruderschaft (the largest club in Gütersloh), the Sundern Bruderschaft (one of the oldest), and many others — form a dense network of traditional associations that support the district calendar and social life.