Sandhäuser Kerwe

More than just a Kerwe

What sets the Sandhäuser Kerwe apart from comparable festivals are three special features: firstly, the Kerwe pastor with rhyming sermons, secondly, the French partnership with Lège-Cap-Ferret on the Atlantic coast — which sells 3,000 oysters every year, raising over €4,800 for social projects — and thirdly, the symbolic Kerwe wedding, a traditional play about the Kerwe figures Jochen Köhler and his partner.

Four Days of Program

The Kerwe begins on Friday with the barrel tapping by Mayor Hakan Günes — a tradition where each tap is jokingly interpreted as a prediction for future offspring. Saturday and Sunday feature the festival parade, amusement rides, stage music, and club stalls. On Sunday morning at 10 a.m., the ecumenical Kerwe service takes place on the town hall square. On Monday morning, a traditional Frühschoppen (morning pint) concludes the festival.

Sandhausen — Asparagus Municipality and SV Sandhausen

Sandhausen, with around 15,000 inhabitants, is a municipality in the Rhein-Neckar district (Baden-Württemberg), south of Heidelberg. The municipality is known for its asparagus cultivation and for the football club SV Sandhausen, which played in the 2. Bundesliga for many years. The Kerwe is an identity-building event that has been celebrated for generations on the second weekend of October.

Partnership with Lège-Cap-Ferret

The town twinning with Lège-Cap-Ferret in the Bay of Arcachon (France) is an active part of the Sandhäuser Kerwe: the French friends bring oysters from the Atlantic and sell them for social projects in Sandhausen. Mayor Günes traditionally tops up the proceeds to €5,500 — proof that town twinning here is not just folklore.