1. Ohligser Winzerfest Solingen

1. Ohligser Winzerfest — Solingen's New Early Summer Attraction

From June 12 to 14, 2026, the western Solingen district of Ohligs will experience a premiere: the first Ohligser Winzerfest. Three days of wine, live music, and community in the heart of the district — Düsseldorfer Straße will transform into a festival mile. A new format for Solingen, with which the city and local businesses are expanding their city center revitalization program with a culinary and cultural component.

Concept — Relaxed Atmosphere Instead of Mass Festival

District Mayor Norbert Westkämper (CDU) has announced the premiere as a "new attraction" for Ohligs. The concept deliberately does not focus on Schlager-style mass festival proportions, but on a relaxed atmosphere and shared experience on a district scale:

• Several wine stands with quality wines from various German and international growing regions
• Live music at a neighborhood-friendly volume
• Local retailers and actors contribute with complementary offerings
• Gastronomic accompaniments from Düsseldorfer Straße restaurants

The premiere is aimed at wine enthusiasts from Ohligs, the neighboring Düsseldorf districts of Garath/Hellerhof, from Hilden, and Solingen-Mitte — not a mass event with hundreds of thousands, but a district festival with a discerning appeal.

Düsseldorfer Straße — Ohligs' Central Shopping Street

Düsseldorfer Straße is the lifeline of Ohligs and connects the district with neighboring Düsseldorf. Cafés, restaurants, small shops, and boutiques line the street — an atmosphere suitable for a wine festival: not a sterile city festival area, but a grown shopping street where the wine stands are integrated into the local context.

Ohligs — Solingen's Western District

The district of Ohligs is located in the west of Solingen, directly on the border with Hilden and thus on the north-south axis Düsseldorf-Cologne. Until 1929, Ohligs was an independent city — and retained its urban character with the magnificent Düsseldorfer Straße, its own train station (now Solingen Hauptbahnhof), and a strong sense of district identity. Worth seeing are the Ohligser Bonbon-Fabrik (now Bonbonmuseum), the Düsseldorfer Straße architecture, and the nearby Sengbachtalsperre reservoir.

Solingen — the "Klingenstadt" (City of Blades) in the Bergisches Land

The independent city of Solingen, with its approximately 162,000 inhabitants, is located in the Bergisches Land region, east of Düsseldorf. It is known worldwide as the "Klingenstadt" for its tradition as the center of the German knife, blade, and tool industry — brands like Wüsthof, Henckels, and Solingen blades come from the city. Worth seeing are Schloss Burg, the Deutsches Klingenmuseum (German Blade Museum), and the Müngsten Bridge (the highest railway bridge in Germany at 107 m).

Solingen City Center Revitalization as Background

The wine festival is part of a broader Solingen city center strategy: like many medium-sized NRW cities, Solingen is struggling with structural change in retail and is trying to strengthen local identity and attract visitors to the district centers through district festivals, weekly markets, and cultural events. District Mayor Westkämper has been committed to this for years; the wine festival is one of his most prominent premiere projects.