Simmerner Kerb

The Simmerner Kerb is, alongside the Maimarkt and Vino in Vertico, the third major folk festival in Simmern's annual calendar. It traditionally takes place at the end of July over a long weekend, thus concluding the peak season of summer folk festivals in the Hunsrück.

Like all Kerwen (fairs) in the Palatinate and Hunsrück regions, the Simmerner Kerb dates back to the ecclesiastical tradition of church consecration (Kirchweih). Originally the festival of the parish community on the occasion of the church consecration, the Kerb has evolved over the centuries into a secular folk festival that involves the entire town. The Kerweborscht (young men and women of the town) take on the ceremonial roles related to the erection of the Kerwebaum (fair tree), the Kerwerede (fair speech), and the symbolic Kerwekrümel (fair crumb) conclusion.

The 2026 festival program runs from Friday, July 24, to Sunday, July 26. As usual, it follows a classic Kerb pattern: Friday evening opening with the erection of the Kerwebaum and the first dance evening in the festival tent; Saturday a festive parade, the main day of attendance with rides operating until late into the night; Sunday a festive church service, family program, stage program in the afternoon, and a relaxed conclusion in the evening.

The rides include the classic folk festival selection: dodgems, carousel, children's carousel, haunted house, shooting galleries, throwing stalls, as well as one or two larger highlight rides. In the festival tent and under the covered festival stalls, regional bands perform, with repertoires ranging from Schlager and dialect music to rock covers and contemporary pop. Food stalls offer bratwurst, fries, crepes, Hunsrück specialties, potato pancakes (Reibekuchen), as well as beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages.

The Kerb attracts visitors from the entire Simmern-Rheinböllen collective municipality, the western Hunsrück, and the neighboring regions of Mittelrhein, Mosel, and Nahe. The town center, with its compact structure around Simmern Castle, provides an ideal setting for a festival of this size.