Roding International — Altstadtfest

An Altstadtfest with a Travel Character

Roding International is not a classic Altstadtfest with Bavarian beer tent folklore — it is a consistently developed themed festival that transforms the old town into a different world region each year. Since 1998, the Burschenverein Roding 1883 e.V., together with the City of Roding, has been organizing this unusual event; the annually changing theme is the identity-defining element.

Format and Atmosphere

On the first weekend of August, the alleys, squares, and courtyards of Roding's old town are decorated. Clubs, restaurateurs, and craft businesses in the city each take over individual stations and develop a program that fits the annual theme: culinary specialties, appropriate live music, themed decorations. This creates routes through the old town where visitors can virtually "travel the world." Several thousand visitors come every year.

Burschenverein 1883 as the Driving Force

The organizers, in addition to the City of Roding, are the Burschenverein Roding 1883 e.V., one of the city's most traditional clubs. The "Burschen" (young men) shape many of Roding's events — from the Burschenball to the Maitanz, the Preisschafkopfen, the Christkindlmarkt, the Johannifeuer, and Roding International. With their Lederhosen, wooden tankards, and the Burschen carriage, they are the most visible club group in the old town.

Roding in the Bavarian Forest

Roding is a town in the Cham district in the Oberpfalz administrative region, located in the Regen valley on the edge of the Oberpfälzer Wald. With around 12,000 inhabitants, Roding is a local center with a strong club life and a historic old town that is a protected monument. Roding International, alongside the Rodinger Volksfest, is the city's largest summer event.