RE.LIGHT International Light Art Festival
International Light Art Festival in the UNESCO Old Town of Regensburg
2026
About RE.LIGHT
RE.LIGHT — edition 2026
Eleven Festival Evenings in the Old Town
From March 12 to 22, 2026, Regensburg's Old Town will be transformed every evening from 6:30 PM into 15 light art stations. The venues were specifically chosen for their suitability for light art (sightlines, facade surfaces, interior acoustics); not all sights are included in the program, but rather a curated selection with historical and architectural relevance.
Artists 2026
Among others, British artist Sebastian Kite will present a site-specific light installation, Spanish land artist Javier Riera will work with urban landscapes, Nika Erjavec from Slovenia and Zalán Szakács from Hungary will complement the program. Full artist list at relight-regensburg.de.
Sustainable Festival Practice
RE.LIGHT sees itself as a model project for resource-conserving large-scale events. All installations are powered by 100% green electricity from REWAG, exclusively LED and modern projection technology are used. Travel on foot, by bus, train, or bicycle is actively encouraged.
Highlights RE.LIGHT 2026
Programme RE.LIGHT 2026
Festival Period and Route
- Festival Duration: March 12 – 22, 2026 (11 evenings)
- Opening Hours: daily 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM
- Venues (Selection):
- Stone Bridge – Regensburg's landmark
- Minoritenkirche – Interior installation
- Neupfarrplatz – Large projection onto the square's geometry
- Velodrom – Inner-city venue for light art
- Palaces and galleries of the Old Town (several stations)
- Artists 2026 (Selection):
- Sebastian Kite (Great Britain)
- Javier Riera (Spain)
- Nika Erjavec (Slovenia)
- Zalán Szakács (Hungary)
- Other international artists (see relight-regensburg.de)
- Recommended Route: Independent exploration with city map; program booklet at info points; approx. 2–3 hours for the entire route
Sustainability
- 100% green electricity from REWAG Regensburg
- LED and modern projection technology
- Energy efficiency rating for each installation
- Travel on foot, by public transport, and bicycle recommended
Prices RE.LIGHT 2026
Practical information — RE.LIGHT
Getting There
Regensburg Old Town, 93047 Regensburg. Approx. 10 minutes on foot from Regensburg Central Station or by RVV bus. Car: A3 (Regensburg exit) – parking garages on the edge of the Old Town (e.g., Petersweg, Bismarckplatz). For the city center, arriving on foot or by bus/train is expressly recommended.
Opening Hours
Daily 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM (from March 12 to 22, 2026). The installations are only fully visible in complete darkness – best time from 7:00 PM onwards.
Admission
Festival completely free of charge. Program flyers and city maps available at info points and the Regensburg Tourist Information (Old Town Hall).
Accessibility
Most installations are accessible outdoors. Indoor venues (Velodrom, galleries, Minoritenkirche) open with their own times – details on site. Accessible routes are marked on the festival map.
Light Art Meets World Heritage
RE.LIGHT is Regensburg's new city experience format and the youngest international light art festival in Southern Germany. While other cities – Berlin, Lyon, Amsterdam – have had established Festival of Lights dates for years, Regensburg carved out its own niche in the European light art calendar with its first edition in 2025. The second edition in 2026 cements the festival as a fixture of the pre-season.
15 Installations, a Walkable Trail
For 2026, 15 light art installations are planned at various historical locations in the Old Town: the Stone Bridge (Regensburg's landmark, completed in 1146), the Minoritenkirche, the Neupfarrplatz, the Velodrom, as well as several palaces, galleries, and courtyards. Visitors wander independently between the stations, often with a city map or app – a walkable work of art on the scale of a World Heritage Old Town.
International Artists
The 2026 program brings together light artists from several countries. Well-known names include Sebastian Kite, Javier Riera, Nika Erjavec, and Zalán Szakács. The selection showcases a range from projection art, sculptural light objects, interactive installations, and site-specific works that respond to the respective facade or interior acoustics of the venue.
Sustainability
The organizers make sustainability a central program point: 100% green electricity from REWAG Regensburg, exclusively LED technology and modern projectors with low energy consumption, evaluation of each installation based on efficiency criteria. Travel is also encouraged towards public transport and cycling – the festival is programmatically conceived within a resource-conserving framework.
Regensburg – The UNESCO World Heritage City
Regensburg, a district-free city in the Upper Palatinate with around 150,000 inhabitants, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006. The medieval Old Town with over 1,000 listed buildings – patrician houses, the Stone Bridge, St. Peter's Cathedral, the Imperial Hall of the Old Town Hall – is Europe's largest medieval city center without a roof covering. The dialogue between historical architecture and contemporary light art, initiated by RE.LIGHT, is therefore particularly impressive.
Where it takes place RE.LIGHT
RE.LIGHT at a glance
History of RE.LIGHT
Edition 2025 Mar 2025Festivals similar to RE.LIGHT
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Published by Valentin Contard, festival listings writer. Reviewed, corrected and approved by Christophe Contard, editor-in-chief. .