Schützenfest Grüngürtel Düren

St. Antonius Marksmen's Brotherhood Düren

The St. Antonius Marksmen's Brotherhood Düren is one of the traditional associations in the Düren district. Like all Rhenish-Catholic marksmen's brotherhoods, it is named after a saint — in this case, St. Anthony (Anthony of Padua), whose feast day falls on the 2nd Sunday in June. The association is divided into several companies and maintains its own clubhouse in the Düren city area.

Marksmen's Festival 5–8 June 2026 in the Grüngürtel

The 2026 Marksmen's Festival runs from Friday 5.6. to Monday 8.6.2026, daily from 3 p.m. to midnight. The venue is the Düren Grüngürtel — a scenically attractive festival site in a central location, regularly used for folk festivals. The four-day format:

• Friday 5.6. — Festival opening with tapping of the keg, first evening events, amusement rides and stalls open
• Saturday 6.6. — Evening festival with live music, king's shooting competition, amusement rides and market stalls all day
• Sunday 7.6. — High mass for the feast of St. Anthony, morning pint, parade of all companies with the royal couples of friendly brotherhoods, coronation ball
• Monday 8.6. — Morning pint, ladies' breakfast, festival finale in the evening

Folk Festival Character

In contrast to pure marksmen's festivals in smaller towns, the Düren Grüngürtel festival is a combined Volks- und Schützenfest — the brotherhood organizes the marksmen's program (king's shooting, parade, coronation ball), while showmen ensure a accompanying Kirmes (fairground) with amusement rides, sweets, snacks, and market stalls. This creates an intergenerational family festival.

Düren in the Rhenish Mining Region

Düren is a medium-sized town between Cologne and Aachen with about 92,000 inhabitants — the seat of the Düren district. The region is known as the Rhenish Mining Region and is undergoing structural change away from lignite mining. Düren has a lively club scene and a strong marksmen's tradition — in addition to the St. Antonius Brotherhood, there are numerous local marksmen's clubs in Echtz, Birgel, Mariaweiler, Arnoldsweiler, and other districts.