Ulsterauenfest Geisa

Nature Festival Along the Ulster

The Ulsterauenfest Geisa is a nature festival that celebrates the connection of the town of Geisa to the Ulster — the central river of the western Wartburg district, which originates in the Hessian Rhön and flows through the highlands of the Rhön to Geisa. The venue is the Ulsteraue, a scenically attractive floodplain area on the edge of the town, which is enlivened culturally by the festival each year.

Experiencing Nature, Customs, Conviviality

The festival combines three elements: experiencing nature with guided tours of the floodplain, lectures on floodplain ecology, and hiking opportunities along the Ulster; regional customs with traditional costumes, demonstrations of customs, and traditional music; and conviviality with a stage program, bratwurst stand, and catering stands from local clubs. Family-oriented, with children's games and hands-on activities.

Geisa and the Geisa Point — Center of Reunified Germany

The town of Geisa (around 4,800 inhabitants) is located in the Wartburg district in the state of Thuringia, in the Thuringian Rhön on the border with Hesse. It was a border town during GDR times — the nearby Point Alpha is an important memorial site of the Cold War. Since reunification in 1990, Geisa has borne the symbolic title "Center of Reunified Germany" — the geographical center of Germany lies 1 kilometer west of the town. The cultural-historical references — border memorial, Rhön landscape, Marian devotion — make Geisa a dense place of remembrance.

Rhön — Land of Open Vistas

The Rhön — the low mountain range between Hesse, Bavaria, and Thuringia — is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the "Land of Open Vistas." Those who travel to the Ulsterauenfest often combine their visit with a hike in the Rhön (Wasserkuppe, Hohe Rhön) or a visit to Point Alpha (3 km from Geisa).