Pegau Old Town Festival

City Festival and Medieval Market in One

Pegau, an old yeoman town southwest of Leipzig in the Leipzig district, takes a special path with its Old Town Festival every year. Instead of a classic city festival with beer tent routine, the small town combines two concepts: a modern city festival on the market square with live music and a family program, and an authentic medieval market camp on the banks of the White Elster river, where entire troupes of historically dressed actors move in. This mix makes the festival a insider tip for medieval fans and families alike throughout Germany.

Medieval Camp on the White Elster

The camp is more than just a backdrop: here, the actors live in their tents from Friday to Sunday, cook over open fires, practice crafts such as blacksmithing, dyeing with natural dyes, bow making, and bread baking, and perform combat demonstrations with swords, lances, and bows several times a day. Jugglers, jesters, and minstrels move back and forth between the camp and the market on the weekend, captivating visitors. For children, the camp is the absolute highlight — rarely can the medieval world be experienced so directly.

Sunday Market with Minstrels and Jesters

On Sunday, the city center becomes a colorful medieval market: traders with handicrafts (leather goods, furs, mead, felt art, forged knives, bows and arrows) set up their stalls, minstrels play bagpipes and hurdy-gurdies, jesters perform in alleys and small squares, and the medieval camp on the banks of the Elster river attracts visitors for a combined visit. The combination of market and camp makes Sunday the highlight of the festival weekend.

Pegau — An Old Town with Character

With over 1,000 years of town history, Pegau is one of the oldest towns in Saxony, founded in 1185 as a market town in the Margraviate of Meissen. The historic old town with its market square, town hall, St. Lawrence Church, and monastery courtyard forms an impressive setting for the festival, especially in conjunction with the medieval camp. Pegau is located in the southern Leipzig district in the state of Saxony, about 30 km from Leipzig — easily accessible by car and regional train.