27th Saxon State Thanksgiving Festival Wurzen 2026

Saxony's Largest Agricultural Festival in Wurzen

Since 1999, the Saxon State Thanksgiving Festival has been the annual major event for Saxony's rural areas. Each year, a different Saxon municipality hosts the festival — in 2026, the choice falls on Wurzen, a town on the Mulde river in the Leipzig district, which, together with the neighboring municipalities of Bennewitz, Lossatal, and Thallwitz, bundles the Wurzen region as the event space. From September 18th to 20th, 2026, three days of agriculture, tradition, and community are on the agenda.

Festival Motto: «Future Grows Here»

Under the motto «Wurzener Land — Future Grows Here», the 2026 festival focuses on the future of rural areas: sustainable agriculture, direct marketing, regional value creation, and generational farm succession. The Saxon Country Women's Association will showcase traditional and modern harvest crowns and arrangements in the St. Wenceslai town church — artistic straw creations where each association from a region can weave in its identity.

Parade — The Grand Finale on Sunday

The highlight of the weekend is the grand parade on Sunday. Associations, agricultural businesses, country women, traditional costume wearers, customs groups, show bands, and representatives from all Saxon districts will march through Wurzen's city center with decorated floats and harvest crowns. The parade is a showcase of the entire Saxon agricultural sector — from Mittelsachsen to Oberlausitz, from Saxon Switzerland to the Vogtland region.

Agricultural Technology, Crafts, Culinary Delights

For three days, Wurzen's squares and halls will feature: exhibitions of historical agricultural machinery (threshing machines, 1950s tractors, horse-drawn carriages) and modern agricultural technology (combine harvesters, GPS steering systems, farm robots), stands of Saxon direct marketers offering sausages, cheese, bread, honey, juices, and farm ice cream, as well as a craft market with basket weavers, blacksmiths, potters, and beekeepers. Concerts by Saxon brass bands and family activities round off the program.

Wurzen — Town on the Mulde

Wurzen, located about 25 kilometers east of Leipzig on the Mulde river, is the administrative seat for the northern Mulde region. The medieval old town with St. Marien Cathedral (founded in the 11th century) and Wurzen Castle provides a worthy setting for an agricultural festival of this magnitude. Over 50,000 visitors from all over Saxony are expected.