Schützenfest Kaarst

Kaarst — Town in Rhein-Kreis Neuss

The town of Kaarst, with around 44,000 inhabitants in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is located on the western edge of Düsseldorf's urban area, between Neuss and Mönchengladbach. With its districts Holzbüttgen, Büttgen, Vorst, and Driesch, Kaarst is a town unusually well-equipped with shooting clubs: each district has its own brotherhood with its own festival. The main Kaarst festival is that of the central St. Sebastianus Schützenbruderschaft.

St. Sebastianus Schützenbruderschaft 1454

Founded in 1454, the St. Sebastianus Schützenbruderschaft Kaarst looks back on over 570 years of history — one of the oldest brotherhoods on the Lower Rhine. It sees itself as an association of citizen shooters with a clear commitment to "Faith, Custom, Homeland". The brotherhood summarizes its current self-understanding in the motto "Where we are is home". Several sub-organizations — Jäger-Corps, Hussaren, Grenadiere (50th anniversary on June 6, 2026), and Schäfer-Korps — contribute to the festive events with their own uniforms, their own king's shooting competitions, and their own traditions.

Four Days of Main Festival in June 2026

The main Kaarst festival runs from Saturday, June 13th, to Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 — four days of festivities with a packed program. The festival tent is located on the Schützenplatz (shooting festival grounds), and the parade moves through the town center. Program highlights include the opening with a morning pint, the king's shooting, the grand parade with all sub-organizations, the reception of the king and queen couples, and the coronation ball. Throughout the festival days, there are dance evenings, shooting competitions, the parade, and morning pints.

Preparation and Accompanying Program

The brotherhood kicks off the year with the general assemblies of the junior shooters (January 9th), the Jäger-Corps (January 11th), and the entire brotherhood (January 25th). The king's bird shooting events for the individual corps are spread throughout the year — Schäfer-Korps, Jäger-Corps, Hussaren, and Grenadiere each have their own date from April to October. On June 6, 2026, the Grenadiere celebrate their 50th anniversary with their own festive event. In November, the traditional St. Martin's Day procession follows, preceding the Christmas market at the end of November.

Schützenfest Town Kaarst

In addition to the main festival, the districts also celebrate their own shooting festivals: Büttgen, Holzbüttgen, and Vorst each have their own brotherhoods with their own festival dates spread throughout the year. Anyone wanting to experience a weekend of shooting festivals on the Lower Rhine has the rare opportunity in Kaarst to combine several festivals within reach — embedded in the shooting club culture of Rhein-Kreis Neuss, one of the densest shooting club landscapes in Germany.