Rothenburg Summer Festival

Volksfest in Germany's Easternmost Small Town

When the sun rises over the Neiße river on the first weekend of August, the most important date of the year begins for Rothenburg/O.L.: the Rothenburg Summer Festival. For three days, Germany's easternmost small town — located right on the Polish border — transforms into a vibrant festival mile. The market square and the adjacent festival grounds are continuously filled with stalls, stages, food vendors, and showmen. Colorful fairy lights, brass band music, the smell of bratwurst and crêpes — a classic Saxon Volksfest with tradition.

Parade on Sunday — Highlight of the Weekend

The centerpiece of the Summer Festival is the parade on Sunday. After a festive church service with musical accompaniment, clubs, traditional costume groups, music bands, floats, and horse groups march through the town center. Families, grandparents, and children line the streets; the atmosphere is warm and unpretentious. The parade is rooted in generations — family photos in front of the same house facade, with the same traditional costumes, a new date each year, but the same tradition.

Special Trips on the Rothenburg Narrow-Gauge Railway

A special highlight for the Summer Festival: The Rothenburg/O.L. e. V. Narrow-Gauge Railway Club operates a historic narrow-gauge railway and offers special trips with historic trains for the Summer Festival. The train traditionally travels through the surrounding countryside — a charming extension of the festival weekend for families and railway enthusiasts. The exact special timetable will be published on kbvr-ev.de shortly before the festival weekend, as soon as coordination with the railway partners is complete.

Music, Market Activities, and Culinary Delights

On the main stage at the market square, regional Schlager, country, and cover bands perform. Local clubs also perform — dance groups, choirs, music bands. A craft and direct marketing fair offers regional food products, pottery, woodwork, and textiles. For children, there are bouncy castles, a children's carousel, face painting, and pony rides. Culinary: Lausitz specialties such as Sorbian Plinsen (pancakes), Lausitz linseed oil on quark, along with bratwurst, steaks, fries, crêpes, ice cream, and of course, beer from the nearby Bautzen brewery.

Rothenburg/O.L. — Germany's Easternmost Small Town

The town of Rothenburg/Oberlausitz, with around 4,500 inhabitants, is located in the Görlitz district, directly on the Lusatian Neisse river — and thus on the border with Poland. Geographically, it is the easternmost small town in Germany. The region is characterized by the typical Upper Lusatian landscape (heath and pond landscape, Umgebinde houses) and centuries of neighborly relations with Sorbian and Polish culture. Visitors to the Summer Festival should plan a walk along the Neisse riverbank and a look across the border into Poland.