Schirndinger Schul- und Wiesenfest

Upper Franconian Wiesenfest – A Special Tradition

The Wiesenfest is a tradition particularly rooted in Upper Franconia – a children's, school, and community festival typically celebrated in early summer on a festival meadow, a schoolyard, or a sports field. Unlike the classic folk festivals of Southern Germany, the focus is on the children and pupils – they march through the village with their classes and clubs in the parade, present dances and songs, and a special games program is set up for them.

Since 1986 in the Schoolyard

In Schirnding, the School and Meadow Festival has been held in the modernized schoolyard of the primary school since 1986. The spacious courtyard, designed like a park, is ideal for a two-day Wiesenfest with a festival tent, catering stands, a stage, and children's play areas. The municipality of Markt Schirnding, the primary school, and the local clubs jointly organize the festival.

Parade and School Choirs

The program follows the Upper Franconian Wiesenfest tradition: a parade with schoolchildren, clubs, floats, and a brass band from the market square to the schoolyard; the festival opening on the stage with the school choir and dance performances by the classes; catering with Upper Franconian specialties by the clubs (sausages, steak sandwiches, cake buffet, coffee); in the evening, dance music with a local band for the adults.

Schirnding on the Czech Border

Markt Schirnding is a market town with just over 1,200 inhabitants in the Wunsiedel district in the Fichtelgebirge in Upper Franconia (State of Bavaria). The town is located directly on the German-Czech border in the eastern Fichtelgebirge and has a rich borderland history – the Bavarian Border Museum Schirnding documents the history of the Iron Curtain at this location. The market town is surrounded by the hilly low mountain landscapes of the Fichtelgebirge and the nearby Czech Egerland.

Community at the Center

The School and Meadow Festival holds a special identity-forming significance in Schirnding: in a borderland community with a manageable population, the Wiesenfest is the most important community festival of the year. Here, schoolchildren, parents, grandparents, clubs, returnees, and guests from neighboring communities meet; here, the village community becomes visible. The program is announced a few weeks before the festival weekend.