Schützenfest Büngern 2026 (325th Anniversary)

325 Years of St. Hubertus Büngern — Anniversary Schützenfest 2026

The Schützenbruderschaft St. Hubertus Büngern was founded in 1700 — making the fraternity one of the oldest shooting associations in the western Lower Rhine region. In June 2026, it will celebrate its 325th anniversary with a grand festival weekend from June 20th to 22nd in Rhede-Büngern (Borken district). The Schützenfest always takes place on the third weekend in June.

Program: Kaiser Shoot and Star March

The 2026 Anniversary Schützenfest offers two special program highlights beyond the classic Schützenfest schedule:

• Kaiser Shoot — an honorary tournament for all former shooting kings of the fraternity. The winner of the Kaiser Shoot will bear the title of Emperor for the next few years. Current Emperor Couple: Tobias Bugdoll and Verena Frankemölle.
• Star March — all Rhede shooting clubs plus the Biemenhorst fraternity will gather for a joint assembly in Büngern before marching to the festival grounds as a closed unit. An impressive display of the Lower Rhine-Westphalian shooting tradition.

In addition, there will be the classic bird shoot to determine the new shooting king, as well as festival evenings with live music and dancing.

King and Emperor Couple 2025/26

Reigning until the 2026 bird shoot are King Christoph Tewordt and Queen Ann-Kathrin Bißlich. The Emperor Couple — Tobias Bugdoll and Verena Frankemölle — holds their title continuously, as the Kaiser Shoot takes place less frequently than the King Shoot.

Büngern — A Shooting Village on the Münsterland Border

Büngern is a small village within the town of Rhede in the Borken district (North Rhine-Westphalia) — located at the transition from the western Münsterland to the Lower Rhine. The region is deeply shaped by shooting traditions: Rhede itself and the surrounding villages (Biemenhorst, Krechting, Vardingholt) each have their own shooting clubs, which will gather for the star march in Büngern in 2026.

St. Hubertus — Patron of Hunters and Shooters

Hubertus of Liège (655–727), the patron saint of the fraternity, is traditionally the patron saint of hunters and shooters. His feast day, November 3rd, is celebrated in many shooting fraternities in the Lower Rhine and Münsterland regions with a St. Hubertus Mass.