33rd Palatinate Wine Festival in the Kurpark of Bad Klosterlausnitz

Palatinate Wine in Thuringia — A District Partnership

Bad Klosterlausnitz is a small spa town in the Saale-Holzland-Kreis in eastern Thuringia, known primarily for its mineral springs, the spa center, and the extensive Kurpark in the heart of the town. An unusual tradition has shaped the Whitsun weekend for over three decades: the annual encounter with Palatinate vintners from the Bad Dürkheim district. The two districts have been partners since the 1990s — a sponsorship that brought together the East and West during the post-reunification period. The wine festival is the culinary fruit of this partnership.

Kurpark, Park Stage, Palatinate Wine

The Bad Klosterlausnitz Kurpark is the ideal setting: wide lawns, old trees, a permanently installed park stage that is regularly used in summer between mid-May and mid-September. Palatinate vintners travel with their wines and set up tasting booths — Riesling, Dornfelder, Spätburgunder, Müller-Thurgau, and other Palatinate varieties. Live bands create a festive atmosphere on the park stage, and regional gastronomy offers Palatinate specialties (Saumagen, Pfälzer Wurst) and Thuringian classics.

Last Weekend of July — Tradition Confirmed

The festival weekend is traditionally the last weekend of July. For 2026, this falls on July 25th–26th. JenaTV has reported on the 22nd, 31st, and 32nd editions in previous years — the festival has thus been established since the early 1990s and has been documented by local media for years. The park stage in the Kurpark is officially confirmed to be active between mid-May and mid-September — the wine festival thus falls within the spa town's high season.

Bad Klosterlausnitz and the Saale-Holzland-Kreis

Bad Klosterlausnitz is located between Jena and Gera in the state of Thuringia, Saale-Holzland-Kreis district. The region is a recreational area with numerous health resorts, forests, and the characteristic features of the Holzlandkreis (small village structures, old monastery buildings). The Palatinate Wine Festival attracts visitors from Jena, Gera, Eisenberg, and the entire Saale-Holzland-Kreis, as well as increasingly from the Saale-Orla-Kreis and Greiz.