Medieval Sheep Festival at the German Shepherd Museum

The German Shepherd Museum in Hersbruck is dedicated to the old craft of herding and sheep farming—and once a year, it symbolically brings its sheep from the field into the museum garden. The Medieval Sheep Festival has taken place every year on the first Sunday in May since 1993 and has long since become a family festival that draws visitors from all over the region to Hersbruck's old town.

The animals are the focus: rare and old sheep breeds graze on the museum meadow, which you can observe up close. Children are allowed to pet and feed lambs. A medieval market, stretching across the garden, barn, alley, and main building, is set up around the sheep: craftspeople demonstrate their skills—a blacksmith, spinners, and weavers work before the eyes of the public—and traders offer wool, leather, cloth, and handicrafts.

Medieval flair has shaped the festival since 2013. The group 'Ritter von der Zarg' (Knights of the Zarg) sets up their camp life in the garden and in front of the museum and stages show fights; minstrels like 'Sagensang' and the minstrels of Ammenberg provide music with shawm and hurdy-gurdy, and medieval cooking takes place in the museum kitchen. Those who appear in historical costume themselves receive discounted admission. Simultaneously, all Hersbruck retailers traditionally celebrate a Sunday with open shops, allowing the festival visit to be combined with a stroll through the old town.