Röslau Volks and Wiesenfest

Upper Franconian Wiesenfest Tradition

The Upper Franconian Wiesenfest is a distinct type of festival, cultivated for generations in Upper Franconia and added to the Bavarian State Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016. The Röslau Volks and Wiesenfest is one of the most vibrant iterations of this tradition in the Fichtelgebirge.

Four Days of Festivities with Clear Choreography

The Wiesenfest has a program structure developed over generations, where each element has its fixed place:

• Thursday evening – Röslau After-Work Party as a festive kick-off
• Friday – Festival tent opening, brass band music, dancing
• Saturday, 1:00 PM – Parade through Röslau with schoolchildren, musicians, dignitaries, and club members; upon arrival at the festival grounds, the Fichtelgebirge song is sung together
• Festival Tent Service (Zeltgottesdienst) as a typical element of Franconian Wiesenfeste
• Sunday – Festival day with music, festival tent, and family program

School Dance and Club Participation

Characteristic of the Upper Franconian Wiesenfest is the central role of schools: schoolchildren participate in the parade, and rehearsed school dances are performed on the festival grounds – a visible sign that the Wiesenfest is equally supported by schools, clubs, the church, and the community as a joint event.

Röslau in the Fichtelgebirge

Röslau is located in the Wunsiedel district of the Fichtelgebirge, a low mountain range region in Upper Franconia between Bayreuth, Hof, and the Czech Republic. With around 2,500 inhabitants, it is a typical small Upper Franconian municipality that has maintained its Wiesenfest tradition for decades without interruption – a living testament that this form of folk festival goes far beyond mere custom.

Significance as Cultural Heritage

The inclusion of Upper Franconian Wiesenfeste in the Bavarian Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage has given the region's folk festivals new visibility. The Röslau Wiesenfest symbolically represents a tradition maintained over generations: parade, school dance, brass band music, and communal singing under the open sky as lived folk culture.