15th Mössingen Apple Week

Mössingen — Orchard Fruit Capital at the Foot of the Jura

Mössingen lies at the foot of the Swabian Jura, on the Albtrauf, in the Tübingen district of Baden-Württemberg. With around 40,000 apple trees around the town, it is one of the most densely wooded traditional orchard areas in Germany. Statistically, every Mössingen resident has their own apple tree; the traditional orchards shape the landscape, the townscape, and the cultural identity. The Apple Week is the annual homage to this tradition — eight days of programming centered around the apple.

15th Edition 2026

The 15th Mössingen Apple Week runs from September 27 to October 4, 2026. The organizer is the Netzwerk Streuobst Mössingen e.V. (Mössingen Orchard Fruit Network) in cooperation with the town of Mössingen and numerous local associations, schools, kindergartens, and restaurants. The program is consistently decentralized — the entire town and its surroundings become the festival grounds.

School Projects and Kindergartens

Schools and kindergartens work on "Apple Projects" during Apple Week: making apple sauce, harvesting apples, identifying old varieties, creative writing about apples. The results are presented in exhibitions, performances, and school café sessions.

Apple Film, Apple Menus, Apple Hikes

The Mössingen cinema shows a selected "Apple Film" — a documentary or feature film about traditional orchards, agriculture, or nutrition. Several restaurants in Mössingen feature apple menus for a week. Guided orchard hikes (often with sheep or goats that tend the meadows) take visitors through the apple slopes at the foot of the Jura. A half marathon through the orchards complements the sporting activities.

Apple Peeling Championship and Unusual Competitions

Humorous program points include unusual competitions: the longest apple peel ribbon (who peels the longest apple peel in one piece?), the orchard quiz, and apple variety identification — playful events that keep the traditional knowledge about apples alive.

Apple Festival on October 4 — The Highlight

On Sunday, October 4, 2026, the big Apple Festival takes place in Mössingen as the highlight of the Apple Week. Stalls with old apple varieties for tasting and purchase, freshly pressed apple juice, apple cake, apple punch, fruit brandy, demonstrations of historical cider presses, and a market with apple products fill Mössingen's town center. Registrations for exhibitors and program items are possible until July 31, 2026.