Kirmes Sotzweiler

A Kirmes at the Foot of the Schaumberg

The municipality of Tholey in the St. Wendel district is synonymous with tradition in Saarland: Catholic customs, the Benedictine Abbey with the famous Richter church window, pilgrimage sites, and a vibrant club life shape the districts. The village of Sotzweiler also contributes to the Kirmes tradition, celebrating its village fair every year in mid-September — one of the many autumn Kirmessen held sequentially in the St. Wendel region.

Date and Format

Traditionally, the Kirmes in Sotzweiler runs for four days, from September 17th to 20th. A beer tent and amusement rides are set up on the festival grounds in the village center. Saturday evening features live music or a DJ, Sunday offers the classic Frühschoppen with brass band music, and Monday is dedicated to Family Day and winding down. The Sotzweiler Kirmes is listed separately on the Tholey municipality's event page — a sign that it is an officially recognized village festival with a long tradition.

What Characterizes the Saarland Kirmes

The Kirmes — often referred to as Kirb or Kirchweih (church consecration fair) in Saarland — dates back to the consecration of the respective parish church. In Sotzweiler, this is the Parish of the Annunciation of Mary. Over centuries, this religious occasion has evolved into a secular folk festival: three to four days when the entire village comes together, relatives return from abroad, the priest stops by for the Frühschoppen, and the sports club provides catering in the tent. This format is a social institution in Saarland.

Schaumberg and Tholey Region

The Schaumberg, at 569 m the "Roof of Saarland", is just a few kilometers from Sotzweiler. Visitors to the Kirmes can combine their trip with a hike up the Schaumberg — the observation tower offers panoramic views stretching to the Vosges mountains. The Benedictine Abbey of Tholey, founded in the 7th century and thus one of Germany's oldest abbeys, is also worth a visit: the church windows by Gerhard Richter, installed in 2020, attract visitors from all over Europe.

Atmosphere

Anyone traveling through the St. Wendel district in late summer will encounter a Kirmes almost every weekend from August to October — Tholey, Sotzweiler, Theley, Bliesen, Hasborn, St. Wendel, Marpingen. Sotzweiler offers one of the smaller programs, but precisely because of this, it is authentic: not a tourist festival, but a village gathering that showcases Saarland's club life in its purest form.