76th Rhine Fishermen's Festival Gernsheim

One of the Largest Folk Festivals in South Hesse

The Rhine Fishermen's Festival is one of the most traditional folk festivals in South Hesse and takes place every year on the first weekend of August directly on the Rhine in Gernsheim. Located in the Groß-Gerau district between Mainz and Mannheim, the festival has attracted visitors from the entire Rhine-Main area to the harbor tip for decades. In 2026, the 76th edition will be celebrated – the program runs from July 30 to August 3.

From Reconciliation Festival to Major Event

The roots of the festival date back to 1949. At that time, it was founded as a reconciliation festival between professional and sport fishermen: at a meeting on April 28, 1949, Christian Reibold, then chairman of the German Sport Fishermen's Association, proposed Gernsheim as the venue – due to the beautiful location and the town's fishing tradition. The small meeting developed over the decades into one of the largest folk festivals in the region.

Jousting on Boats, Fireworks, and Boat Parade

The centerpiece of the festival is the jousting on boats in the harbor: two teams compete against each other in wooden boats, trying to push each other into the water with long, padded lances – a spectacular tradition that draws thousands of spectators to the harbor basin every year. The preliminary rounds usually take place on Fridays, and the final battles on Sundays. The grand finale is a large fireworks display on and over the Rhine on Monday evening, which can be seen from the festival grounds and the Rhine promenade.

Opening Program and Harbor Concert

Before the actual festival begins, the traditional opening program with sporting competitions from local clubs takes place: handball tournaments, agility competitions for dog lovers, shooting competitions for marksmen. The annual harbor concert with changing musical groups also takes place on Rheinstraße. During the festival, amusement rides such as the Ferris wheel "Colossus" and the classic "Excalibur" swing boats populate the festival grounds, along with haunted houses, shooting galleries, and over seventy catering and market stalls.

50 Years of Twinning with Bar-sur-Aube

A special feature of the 76th edition in 2026: parallel to the festival, the 50th anniversary of the twinning between Gernsheim and Bar-sur-Aube (Champagne, France) will be celebrated. A dedicated exhibition tent will showcase 24 historical documents and photos from five decades of friendly relations between the two cities.

Gernsheim – Harbor Town on the Rhine

Gernsheim, with around 11,000 inhabitants, is one of the smaller towns in the Groß-Gerau district, but it is located directly on the Rhine and has an ideal festival site at the tip of the harbor. Its location between Darmstadt, Worms, and Mainz makes the festival attractive to a large catchment area.