Schützenfest Bardowick

A Guild with Four Hundred Years of Tradition

The Schützengilde von 1612 of the Flecken Bardowick e.V. is one of the oldest associations in Northern Germany. Founded in the early 17th century, in a time of civic militias and town guards, the guild has survived the centuries and shaped Bardowick's marksmen's tradition up to the present day. Bardowick itself — today a municipality in the Lüneburg district — was an important trading town and bishop's seat in the Middle Ages, holding a prominent position in the Saxon-Lower Saxon region until its destruction by Henry the Lion in 1189. The old marksmen's guild builds on this urban tradition.

Marksmen's Festival on the Schützenplatz

The annual marksmen's festival is the guild's most important event. The venue is the Schützenplatz Bardowick with its own shooting range and festival tent area. The program follows the North German tradition: bird shooting in the late morning or early afternoon, festive assembly of the guild in uniform, parade through the municipality, proclamation of the new marksmen's king and queen, king's banquet, and dance evening in the festival tent. On the event days, brass bands, a live band, and carousels provide a classic folk festival atmosphere that attracts visitors far beyond the association's members.

Family Day, Frühschoppen, and Sociability

For the people of Bardowick and their guests, the marksmen's festival is more than just an association event. Family Day with children's entertainment, bouncy castles, carousels, and pony rides, as well as the traditional marksmen's Frühschoppen (morning pint) on the festival Sunday, open the event to the entire population. Guests from the surrounding communities of the Samtgemeinde Bardowick and from Lüneburg are also regular visitors.

Bardowick — A Municipality with its Own Identity

Bardowick not only boasts an old marksmen's guild but also another regionally renowned highlight — the large Harvest Festival (Erntedankfest) in September. The old market town with its Romanesque cathedral St. Peter and Paul, its gardening tradition, and its active community life confidently cultivates its distinct identity as a municipality with its own history.