Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days 2026 — Monschau, Roetgen & Simmerath
Three months of cultural festival in the Eifel: 20+ events from March 20 to June 20, 2026, in Monschau, Roetgen, and Simmerath
2026
About Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days 2026
Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days 2026 — edition 2026
The 2026 edition is the third of its kind and follows the alphabetical order of the member municipalities: after Alsdorf (2024) and Baesweiler (2025), it's now the turn of Monschau, Roetgen, and Simmerath. More than 20 events spread over three months make the festival one of the most ambitious Eifel cultural projects of the year.
The main theme for 2026 is crime readings — a deliberate programmatic choice that brings artistically successful genre authors as well as established actors like Christian Redl and Katharina Thalbach to Eifel venues.
Highlights Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days 2026 2026
Jazz duo Peirani & Parisien, reading by Jens Wawrczeck (Hitchcock), concert by Reema, and Benno Fürmann/Lisa Bassenge with 'The Great Gatsby'.
Programme Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days 2026 2026
Confirmed Events in Monschau (Selection)
- Sunday, April 26, 2026 — Duo Gómez-Valero, Cello and Piano Concert, Evangelische Stadtkirche Monschau
- Friday, May 29, 2026 — Jens Wawrczeck reads Alfred Hitchcock, St.-Michael-Gymnasium Monschau
- Friday, June 12, 2026 — Concert with Reema, Aukloster Monschau
- Sunday, June 14, 2026 — Benno Fürmann & Lisa Bassenge: Literary-Musical Performance 'The Great Gatsby', St.-Michael-Gymnasium
Other Artists (spread across Monschau, Roetgen, Simmerath)
- Vincent Peirani & Émile Parisien — Jazz Duo
- Reinhold Beckmann — Reading 'Aenne und ihre Brüder'
- Christian Redl & Katharina Thalbach — Crime Literature Readings
Full program and venues: staedteregion-aachen.de and Eventim.
Prices Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days 2026 2026
Uniform price: €15 per event. Tickets via StädteRegion Aachen, Eventim, and Ticketmaster. Discounts for schoolchildren and students.
Practical information — Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days 2026
Getting There
You can reach Monschau by car via the B258 (from Aachen) or the B399 (from Düren). Limited bus service from Aachen (line SB66). Parking is available at the entrance to the old town. The historic old town is car-free.
Tickets
Uniform festival price (€15 per event) through the Regional Association of Cities or Eventim. Discounted tickets for schoolchildren, students, and holders of a disability card.
Note
Program overview with venues and directions on the website of the city of Monschau and the Aachen Regional Association of Cities.
Eifel as a Cultural Space
The Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days are a young but already established festival format of the Aachen Regional Association of Cities. Founded in 2024, they travel alphabetically through the member municipalities each year: 2024 Alsdorf, 2025 Baesweiler, 2026 the three southern Eifel municipalities of Monschau, Roetgen, and Simmerath. Over three months, 20+ events — concerts, readings, theater — will be spread across characteristic venues between the High Fens and the Rursee reservoir.
High-Caliber Artists from German-Speaking Countries
The 2026 program brings together national and international stars: the Franco-German jazz duo Vincent Peirani & Émile Parisien, singer-songwriter Reema, author and sports commentator Reinhold Beckmann (with a reading from 'Aenne und ihre Brüder'), actors Christian Redl, Jens Wawrczeck, and Katharina Thalbach. The focus in 2026: crime literature in readings.
Three Municipalities, One Festival
The festival is designed as a traveling festival through the Regional Association of Cities. In 2026, the venues will be spread across three Eifel municipalities — from Monschau (historic old town in the Rur valley) through Roetgen (entrance to the High Fens) to Simmerath (Rursee reservoir, Eifel National Park). Each municipality contributes its own venues to the program: Evangelische Stadtkirche Monschau, St.-Michael-Gymnasium, Aukloster, etc.
Specifically in Monschau
Confirmed events in Monschau in 2026 (excerpt): Duo Gómez-Valero with a cello-piano concert in the Evangelische Stadtkirche on April 26; Jens Wawrczeck with an Alfred Hitchcock reading on May 29 at the St.-Michael-Gymnasium; Reema on June 12 at the Aukloster; and on June 14, a literary-musical performance by Benno Fürmann and Lisa Bassenge around 'The Great Gatsby' at the St.-Michael-Gymnasium.
The Aachen Regional Association of Cities
The Aachen Regional Association of Cities is a special association founded in 2009, comprising the city of Aachen and nine other municipalities — geographically located between the Lower Rhine, the Eifel, and the Belgian border. The Cultural Days are an important instrument for making culture visible beyond the major city and integrating smaller Eifel communities into the supra-regional cultural scene.
Where it takes place Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days 2026
Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days 2026 at a glance
History of Regional Association of Cities Cultural Days 2026
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