Monastery and Family Festival of the Bautzen District

St. Marienstern Monastery — when the Cistercian convent becomes a stage

St. Marienstern Monastery in Panschwitz-Kuckau has been the center of monastic life in the Sorbian-Catholic Upper Lusatia since 1248 — one of the few continuously operating Cistercian convents in Germany. The Catholic Sorbian population in the tri-border area of Bautzen-Kamenz-Hoyerswerda maintains its own piety and festival traditions to this day, in which the monastery plays a central role.

The annual Monastery and Family Festival of the Bautzen District draws on this background: The monastery garden — a spacious garden complex with Baroque structures and old monastery walls — becomes a festival meadow. Program: music, dance, acrobatics, a regional and nature market (with specialties such as the winter-hardy "Kiwi-Beere" from a Chemnitz breeder), information stands of local clubs, sports stations, wellness, and creative offerings.

Sorbian Roots and Granite Village

The region around Panschwitz-Kuckau belongs to the Sorbian-Catholic core area — many villages have Sorbian double names, and traditional costumes and customs are maintained. The association Granitdorf e. V. also presents information about the region's granite mining tradition: Königshain granite has shaped the local economy for centuries.

Bautzen and Catholic Upper Lusatia

The Bautzen district is bilingual and has its own identity with the Sorbian-Catholic western part: pilgrimages, Corpus Christi processions, monastery festivals, and the Schleife parish. Visitors to the festival can combine their stay with visits to the old town of Bautzen, the Sorbian Cultural Center Schleife, or the Panschwitz-Kuckau Monastery.