Storchenfest Rühstädt

The Festival of the European Stork Village

Around 30 pairs of storks breed in Rühstädt every year — a unique density nationwide for fewer than 200 inhabitants. For this reason, the small village in the Prignitz has held the official title of European Stork Village since 1996, awarded by EuroNatur. Once a year, traditionally in July, the community celebrates its Storchenfest together with the Storchenclub Rühstädt e.V. — then the festival meadow by the visitor center transforms into the most convivial place in northwestern Brandenburg.

2026: Double Anniversary on the Festival Meadow

The 2026 edition has a special touch: Rühstädt is hosting the Meeting of European Stork Villages for the first time, a network of communities in 15 European countries with a particularly high density of white storks. In parallel, the Rühstädt Volunteer Fire Brigade is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Both occasions merge in 2026 with the regular Storchenfest into a triple program.

Program Over Two Days

The festival begins on Friday, July 24, 2026, starting at 5:00 PM with the traditional football tournament between fire brigades, village clubs, and friendly stork villages. On Saturday, July 25, the official festival program starts: stork guided tours with the ornithologists from the visitor center, a small festival mile with regional products, a stage program with music and sketches, the clown duo Tacki & Noisly for the children, an opulent cake buffet from the village bakeries, and grilled food from the region. In the evening, dancing under the open sky.

Rühstädt — Stork Paradise in the Prignitz

Rühstädt is located directly on the Elbe-Brandenburg River Landscape Biosphere Reserve, about 15 km from Bad Wilsnack and 20 km from Wittenberge. The vast Elbe meadows are ideal hunting grounds for white storks, which return from Africa every year in April and occupy their nests in the village chimneys, on barn roofs, and on specially erected stork poles. The European Stork Village Visitor Center on the outskirts offers daily guided tours during the season — on the festival weekend, the program is intensified and integrated into the festival events free of charge.