Schlosstraum Köthen

One Night. One Castle. One Dream.

Schlosstraum is one of the most unusual festival formats in Saxony-Anhalt. On a single evening each year — Saturday in August — Köthen Castle Park is transformed into a variety park. Professional artists perform simultaneously on several small and large stages in the courtyard, in the park, on the castle pond, and in the event center: stilt walkers, acrobats, dancers, musicians, fire artists, comedians, and artists from Köthen. The audience strolls from stage to stage, curates their own program, sits sometimes here by the courtyard wall, sometimes there by the pond's edge, and meets at the end for the grand finale.

The idea, first developed by organizers and citizens from Köthen in 2019, has quickly become a cult event. Tickets have been selling out well in advance for years — the 2026 edition was also completely sold out on the evening of its official announcement.

Motto 2026: Baroque

Each edition of Schlosstraum is themed, shaping the staging. For the 7th edition in 2026, the theme is "Baroque" — a tribute to the era when Köthen experienced its cultural peak: In the early 18th century, court composer Johann Sebastian Bach spent the most fruitful years of his life here, during which many of his instrumental compositions were created. The court of Köthen-Anhalt was a center for enlightened musical patronage at that time. This period continues to shape the city today — and provides Schlosstraum with its visual vocabulary.

Köthen, Anhalt-Bitterfeld and the Bach Town

Köthen (Anhalt), with just under 25,000 inhabitants, is one of the medium-sized towns in the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district. The Baroque castle complex from the late 17th century, with its courtyards, gardens, and adjacent event center, forms the cultural heart. Köthen officially bears the epithet "Bach Town" and, along with Leipzig, Weimar, and Arnstadt, is one of the Bach stations in Central Germany. Schlosstraum complements the annual Köthen Bach Festivals and Bach House tours with a contemporary, popular cultural event.