Oberwiesenthaler Marktplatzfest

Festival Mile on the Market Square

The spa town of Oberwiesenthal is Germany's highest town — 914 metres above sea level, at the foot of the Fichtelberg (1,214 m) and on the border with the Czech Republic. Every August, the town invites you to the Marktplatzfest on the central square beneath the mountain range. The event is organised by the town council in cooperation with Oberwiesenthal's clubs. In 2026, the festival will take place from August 21 to 23 — three days of stage performances, market stalls, and live music in the heart of the Erzgebirge, with free admission.

Stage Programme and Live Music

On the main stage in the market square, various bands and solo artists will perform over the three days — from Erzgebirge folk music and German Schlager to pop and rock covers. Between concerts, dance groups, traditional costume associations, and children's choirs will perform. The acoustic setting of the market square, framed by the tall fir trees of the surrounding mountains, gives the programme a special sonic character — those who hear a concert here will gladly hike down into the Pöhla valley afterwards or take Germany's oldest suspension railway up the Fichtelberg.

Craft Market and Children's Craft Street

Saturday is dedicated to Erzgebirge traditions: On the craft market mile, lacemakers, woodcarvers, hoop makers (a typical Erzgebirge woodworking technique), incense cone producers, and candle makers will demonstrate their skills. The Erzgebirge is famously the cradle of traditional Christmas crafts (incense smokers, Schwibbögen candle arches, pyramids) — even in midsummer, you can encounter the origins of these crafts here. For children, there is a craft street with various hands-on activities — felting, woodturning, salt dough figures, painting with natural colours.

'Blue Light Mile' and Wiesenthaler Vintage Car Rally

The 'Blue Light Mile' brings together the police, mountain rescue, alpine rescue, volunteer fire brigade, and the DRK (German Red Cross) high-altitude rescue team into the festival — emergency vehicles to see and touch, demonstrations, and hands-on activities for children. On Sunday, the Wiesenthaler Vintage Car Rally provides a grand finale: historic cars, motorcycles, and trucks from various decades — many of them East German brands — will gather in the market square before setting off on a guided tour through the Upper Erzgebirge.

Erzgebirge and Saxony

Oberwiesenthal is located in the Erzgebirgskreis district in the south of the state of Saxony, nestled between the Fichtelberg and the Czech border. As a state-approved climatic health resort and Germany's only high-altitude spa, the town attracts thousands of people seeking relaxation, winter sports enthusiasts, and hikers year after year. Alongside the New Year's Market, the Erzgebirge Christmas Market, and the Bergstadt Festival, the Marktplatzfest is one of the social fixed points of the annual calendar — and the only major summer event where the Erzgebirge celebrates the warm season with a town festival at high altitude.