Kirmes Venn & Schützenfest MG-Venn — St. Josef-Bruderschaft 1884

A Brotherhood Since 1884

The St. Josef-Bruderschaft Venn of 1884 e.V. has been the social backbone of the Mönchengladbach district of Venn for over 140 years. With its nine Honschaften – Alt Venn, Die Duis, Beltinghoven, Hamern, Poeth, Rönneter, Venn Kirche, Winkeln, and Die Trier Pilger – it forms a dense network of village structures within the large city. The Schützenfest is the highlight of the association's year and, at the same time, the most important district festival.

Moved from July to September

A remarkable program change: The festival, which traditionally took place at the beginning of July, was permanently moved to September in 2025. The reason in 2025 was the timing between the City Schützenfest and the Federal Schützenfest in Mönchengladbach – a logistically optimal date that also takes advantage of the more pleasant September weather. The Schützenfest will remain in September in 2026 as well; the expected festival days will be mid-September 2026 (previous year's pattern: September 12–15) — the final dates will be published by the brotherhood on stjosef-venn.de.

Three Festival Grounds

The festival is spread across three central locations in the Venn district:

• Mürrigerplatz – Main festival tent and event center.
• Kalvarienberg – Site of the services, patronal celebration, and religious accents.
• Gasthof Loers – Traditional inn as a meeting point for the brotherhood.

Program Structure: Customs and Parade

The Venn Schützenfest follows a dense program structure:

• Mairichten and Maibaum – traditional acts of customs preservation.
• Serenade – musical tribute to the royal couples.
• High Mass – festive church service for the patronal feast (Saint Joseph).
• Grand Parade through Venn – the nine Honschaften march together with music corps through the district.
• Klompenball – traditional dance event in 'Klompen' (clogs), a specialty of Lower Rhine Schützen culture.

Royal Couples 2025/26

For the 2026 Schützen year, the brotherhood has once again proclaimed new majesties — King Ralf Pieszcek with ministers Siegfried 'Siggi' Hüpkes and Harald were already elected the previous year. The 2026 festival thus serves both to bid farewell to the reigning royal couple and to crown their successors.

Venn — A Village in Mönchengladbach

Venn is a district in southern Mönchengladbach (South district) in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Like many Mönchengladbach districts, Venn maintains its own village identity despite incorporation. The Schützenbruderschaft is the most important identity-forming association; with Mairichten, Patronal Feast, parade, and Klompenball, it preserves a cultural heritage that is still widespread in the Lower Rhine region between Mönchengladbach, Korschenbroich, and Neuss.