Klezmer.welten Gelsenkirchen

Klezmer.welten — three weeks of Yiddish music in the Ruhr Area

The Klezmer.welten Festival has been Germany's largest festival for Yiddish music and Eastern European Jewish tradition since 2003. From March 1 to 22, 2026, the Jewish Community of Gelsenkirchen presents seven concerts in extraordinary venues between Gelsenkirchen, Essen, and Dorsten. The concept combines tradition and the present: old Yiddish songs, classic Klezmer, modern crossover projects, and jazz inspirations.

2026 Program — seven concerts, six venues

The 2026 edition opens with the Purim Ball at the Alte Synagoge Essen (March 1) and concludes three weeks later with the joyful evening by Lea Kalisch & Rabbi T at the Neue Synagoge Gelsenkirchen (March 22). In between, international stars from Israel, the USA, Turkey, Belarus, Poland, and Latvia will perform — a fully curated Klezmer map over three weeks.

Extraordinary Venues

What makes Klezmer.welten special is the choice of locations:

• Alte Synagoge Essen — Opening Purim Ball with Dobranotch
• Neue Synagoge Gelsenkirchen — Concerts with Kapela Kotra and Lea Kalisch
• Schloss Horst — Renaissance castle in Gelsenkirchen-Horst
• Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche in Gelsenkirchen — Stage for The Klezmatics
• Jüdisches Museum Westfalen Dorsten — Jake Shulman-Ment solo program

The Klezmatics — Festival Highlight

The musical highlight of this festival edition is the performance by Grammy winners The Klezmatics on March 14 at the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche. Active in New York since 1986, the band is considered a central player in the modern Klezmer revival movement and celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026. A rare opportunity to experience one of the world's most influential Jewish music ensembles in the Ruhr Area.

Gelsenkirchen — Germany's Klezmer Capital

With nearly a quarter-century of festival history, Gelsenkirchen (independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Ruhr Area) has established itself as Germany's Klezmer capital. The Jewish Community, supported by the Neue Synagoge on Georgsplatz, is one of the most active in NRW and sees its cultural work as building bridges between Jewish tradition and the city's society. Klezmer.welten is the most visible flagship of this endeavor.