Pegau Old Town Festival
28th Old Town Festival with Medieval Market, Camp Life and Acrobatics in the historic city center of Pegau
About Pegau Old Town Festival
Travel to this festival
Reserva tu tren o autobús para llegar a Pegau Old Town Festival al mejor precio.
Sponsored link
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.
Pegau Old Town Festival — edition 2026
Two Days of Medieval Times and City Festival
In 2026, the Pegau Old Town Festival once again combines a classic city festival and an authentic medieval market. On Friday evening, the festival kicks off with live music in the old town and the opening of the large camp on the White Elster. Saturday brings the highlight: a colorful medieval market, combat demonstrations, jesters and minstrels, medieval music, and culinary diversity from the region.
Programme Pegau Old Town Festival 2026
Program Structure 2026
Friday, September 4, 2026
- Afternoon — Setup and opening of the medieval camp on the White Elster
- 5:00 PM — City festival opening on the market square
- Evening — Live music in the old town, acrobatics performances, gastronomy in courtyards
- Evening — Medieval banquet and campfire music in the medieval camp
Saturday, September 5, 2026 — Highlight
- 10:00 AM — Opening of the medieval market in the city center
- All Day — Medieval market traders (leather goods, furs, mead, blacksmithing, felt art, bows)
- All Day — Craft demonstrations in the camp (blacksmithing, dyeing, bow making, bread baking)
- Several times daily — Combat demonstrations with sword, lance, and bow
- Several times daily — Performances by minstrels (bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy) and jesters
- Afternoon — Children's program: medieval games, coin minting, archery
- Evening — Festival finale in the camp with a fire show
The full detailed program for 2026 will be published at stadt-pegau.de/pegauer-altstadtfest.
Highlights Pegau Old Town Festival 2026
- Large medieval camp on the White Elster with overnight stays
- Combat demonstrations with sword, lance, and bow
- Medieval market with minstrels, jesters, and market traders
- Craft demonstrations: blacksmithing, dyeing, felt art, bow making
- Acrobatics performances and live music in the historic old town
- Children's program with coin minting and archery
Prices Pegau Old Town Festival 2026
Admission to the entire festival grounds is free. Donations welcome for acrobatics performances and at the camp. Food, drinks, and market items at the respective prices of the vendors.
Practical information — Pegau Old Town Festival
Date 2026
September 4th and 5th, 2026 (Friday and Saturday — historically traditional for two days). 28th edition.
Venues
Historic Old Town Pegau (Market Square, Town Hall, St. Lawrence Church, Monastery Courtyard) and Medieval Camp on the banks of the White Elster.
Admission
Free admission. Donations for the medieval groups at the camp are welcome.
Getting There
By car via the A38 (exit Leipzig-Südwest) or the A9 (exit Bad Lausick). About 30 minutes by car from Leipzig, 50 minutes by regional train (RB113 towards Hof) to Pegau.
Organizer
City of Pegau, Markt 1, 04523 Pegau. Further information from Volkshaus Pegau and the City of Pegau.
Festival-goer photos
No photos yet. Share yours!
Share your photos
Max. 5 photos, 5 MB per photo (JPG, PNG, WebP)
Spotted an error or missing information?
Help us keep this listing up to date. Each suggestion is reviewed by our team before being published.
Festival-goer reviews
No rating yet — be the first!
No comments yet. Be the first!
Were you there?
Share your experience with the community.
Travel to this festival
Reserva tu tren o autobús para llegar a Pegau Old Town Festival al mejor precio.
Sponsored link
Where it takes place Pegau Old Town Festival
Historische Altstadt Pegau
Markt, 04523 Pegau