Lausitz Festival — Herrnhut

The Lausitz Festival

The Lausitz Festival is one of East Germany's most ambitious cultural projects. Since 2020, it has combined classical music, theatre, dance, performance, and visual arts at venues in Upper and Lower Lusatia — from Cottbus to Görlitz, Weißwasser, Forst, Zittau, and as far as Herrnhut and Domsdorf. The festival is part of the structural change in Lusatia following the phase-out of lignite mining and aims to position the region as a cultural hub with top-class international artists. The seventh edition, running from August 25 to September 13, 2026, will feature over 20 events at eleven venues.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard in Herrnhut

On Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 7:30 PM, French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard will perform in the church hall of the Evangelical Moravian Church in Herrnhut. Aimard, born in Lyon in 1957 and a long-time soloist with the Ensemble Intercontemporain under Pierre Boulez, is considered one of the world's foremost interpreters of contemporary piano music. His program BACHKURTÁG brings two worlds together: the shortest miniature art of Hungarian composer György Kurtág (born 1926, turning one hundred in February 2026) and the contrapuntal highlights of Johann Sebastian Bach from the Well-Tempered Clavier and the Art of Fugue. 33 pieces interwoven into a two-hour recital — a rare occasion to experience the affinities and frictions between composers separated by two and a half centuries.

The Church Hall — UNESCO World Heritage

The church hall of the Evangelical Moravian Church is an architectural and acoustic gem. Built in 1756/57 under the direction of Christian David, a carpenter and architect of the early Herrnhut period, it is the heart of the Herrnhut settlement. Simple, whitewashed, with high windows and a flat barrel vault — everything reflects the sober, community-oriented spirit of the Moravian Brethren. In July 2024, Herrnhut was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the serial World Heritage site 'Moravian Church Settlements' (along with Christiansfeld in Denmark, Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, and Gracehill in Northern Ireland).

Herrnhut — Centre of the Worldwide Moravian Church

Herrnhut was founded in 1722 when Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf offered a home on his Berthelsdorf estate to Bohemian and Moravian religious refugees. On August 13, 1727 — the date of the rebirth of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) — the community was officially constituted. One of the first worldwide missionary movements of the Protestant world originated from Herrnhut: over 30 'local congregations' modeled after Herrnhut were established in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. Today, the Moravian Church is an international faith community headquartered in Herrnhut. Also famous are the Herrnhuter Sterne — paper Christmas stars that have been produced in Herrnhut since the 19th century and are sold worldwide.

Saxony, Görlitz, and Upper Lusatia

Herrnhut is located in the Görlitz district in the far east of the state of Saxony, in Upper Lusatia, not far from the borders of Poland and the Czech Republic. With around 5,800 inhabitants, the town is small — but its cultural and religious-historical significance is immense. The Lausitz Festival in Herrnhut is one of the few opportunities to hear international classical music stars like Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the Tenebrae Choir, and the Basel Chamber Orchestra in this tranquil World Heritage site.