Kultursommer Sebnitz 2026

Six Weeks of Cultural Program in the Sächsische Schweiz

The Kultursommer of the Sächsische Schweiz is a summer event series that has been taking place for years during the Saxon summer holidays. Six weeks of programming — each week a different host town: Stolpen, Neustadt in Sachsen, Hohnstein, Bad Schandau, Sebnitz, and the Czech Dolní Poustevna (Niedergrund). In 2026, the Sebnitz Week runs from Monday, July 13th, to Sunday, July 19th — embedded in the overarching Kultursommer format of the Wirtschaftsinitiative Sächsische Schweiz e. V..

Market Square as Festival Stage

The main venue for the Sebnitz Week is the Marktplatz (market square) in the historic city center. Concerts, theater performances, and larger family programs take place here — with free admission under the open sky. Other venues are spread throughout the city: the city theater, the city church, Sebnitz Castle, the city park, and individual cultural institutions such as the Kunstblumenmanufaktur (artificial flower manufactory). This turns the entire city of Sebnitz into a stage for a week.

Theater, Music, Children's Activities

The program is deliberately broad: theater performances by regional theaters (often open-air), concerts featuring classical music, jazz, folk, Schlager, and pop, children's programs with fairy tale hours, Punch and Judy shows, skill games, workshops, and hands-on activities, as well as local cultural presentations: dance groups, choirs, local heritage associations, and traditional customs groups showcase their work. The Sebnitz Kunstblumenmanufaktur, a trademark of the city, opens its doors for special guided tours during the Kultursommer.

Sebnitz — City of Artificial Flowers

Sebnitz, with around 9,000 inhabitants in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district on the Czech border, is famous for its Sebnitzer Kunstblumen (artificial flowers) — one of the most important centers of German artificial flower production since the 19th century. The neighboring Sebnitz Castle, the city church, and the Sächsisch-Böhmische Schweiz (Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland) with its striking sandstone rock formations form the backdrop for the Kultursommer. Those experiencing the Kultursommer in Sebnitz should plan a day for a hike into the sandstone formations or the Kirnitzschtal valley.

Three Countries, One Summer

A special feature of the Kultursommer: the inclusion of the Czech town of Dolní Poustevna (Niedergrund) as a host town. The German-Czech cooperation in the summer festival reflects the reality of this border region — Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland has been a common cultural area for centuries, and the Kultursommer celebrates this with program items on both sides of the Neisse River border.