Schützenfest Rheindahlen — St. Helena Brotherhood

Brotherhood since 1433

The St. Helena Schützenbruderschaft Rheindahlen und Kirchspiel e.V. is one of the oldest marksmen's brotherhoods in North Rhine-Westphalia. Founded in 1433, it looks back on almost six centuries of lived tradition. Its motto: „Faith, Custom, and Homeland". The Schützenfest in Rheindahlen, a southwestern district of Mönchengladbach, is the social highlight of the year — five days of club, village, and town festival in one.

Five Days of Marksmen Tradition

In 2026, the festival runs from August 14th to 18th. The program follows the classic structure of Lower Rhine Schützenfeste, traditionally organized:

• Flagpole Raising and Grand Tattoo — Opening on Saturday evening
• Festival Parade and High Mass — Sunday morning
• Star March and Grand Festival Parade on Sunday afternoon
• Klompen Women's Parade on Monday morning — a Lower Rhine specialty
• Homeland Evening as the closing event on the last festival evening

Festival Marquee on Hilderather Straße

The large festival marquee is traditionally located on Hilderather Straße on a green space. With a beer garden, lounge area, and free admission to the marquee events, it is the social center of the festival. Here, Rheindahlen transforms into its own small festival world for a week — companies march in uniform, the king and his court are celebrated, bands play in the evenings, and families meet in the afternoon.

The Entire District as a Festival Zone

What makes Rheindahlen special: it's not a small village festival, but transforms an entire district of about 18,000 inhabitants into a festival zone. Shops decorate their windows, clubs present themselves, and social life revolves around the Schützenfest for five days. Visiting marksmen's brotherhoods participate in the Sunday parade — the “Star March” gathers companies from the surrounding Lower Rhine villages.

Klompen Women — A Lower Rhine Tradition

The Klompenfrauenzug (women's parade in wooden shoes) is a specialty of the region: women parade through the streets in traditional wooden shoes (Lower Rhenish “Klompen”) — a custom that underscores the regional and cultural connection to the neighboring Netherlands. Mönchengladbach and the entire Lower Rhine region have shared common customs with the Dutch province of Limburg for centuries.

Mönchengladbach-Rheindahlen — The South of the City

Rheindahlen is located in the south of Mönchengladbach in North Rhine-Westphalia. With its own historical identity (former municipal area, incorporated in 1973), the parish church of St. Helena (namesake of the brotherhood), and a vibrant club life, the district has retained much of its unique character.