Vaihinger Maientag

Vaihinger Maientag — The City's Oldest Festival

The Vaihinger Maientag is the oldest secular festival in the city of Vaihingen an der Enz (Ludwigsburg district, Baden-Württemberg). Its origins date back to the year 1400, when the Vaihingen Latin School gifted its students Maientag as an excursion day — over six centuries, this evolved into one of Württemberg's largest town festivals, attracting around 100,000 visitors today. The festival is organized by the City of Vaihingen with its city marketing department and local clubs.

Five Days of Pentecost Festival

The 2026 Maientag runs from Friday, May 22, to Tuesday, May 26 — thus spanning the entire Pentecost weekend, including Whit Sunday (May 24) and Whit Monday (May 25). This firm anchoring in the Pentecost holidays is a Vaihingen specialty that makes the festival family-friendly and accessible to travelers from the entire region. Opening on Friday evening with the tapping of the first keg, the festival concludes on Tuesday.

The Main Attractions — Marquee, Wine Village, Punt Boats

Three main areas define the festival activities:

• Marquee with stage program and catering — the musical heart of Maientag with bands, music clubs, and dancing
• Wine Village along Walter-de-Pay-Straße — Württemberg wineries and cooperatives serve Lemberger, Riesling, Trollinger, and Spätburgunder, alongside Swabian cuisine at club stands
• Punt boat rides on the Enz river — an impressive Vaihingen tradition on the Pentecost weekend, where visitors are taken across the Enz in flat-bottomed punting boats, similar to those on the Neckar in Tübingen

Parade, Medieval Market, Children's Festival

Other regular program highlights include the parade of Vaihingen clubs with themed floats, music bands, and traditional costume groups through the city center, a medieval market around the castle and city walls, a grand children's festival with carousels, games, and hands-on activities, as well as numerous concerts, theater performances, sports events, and city tours. The city guide team offers special tours on the Maientag theme.

Free Public Transport — A Vaihingen Trademark

A Vaihingen specialty: During the entire duration of Maientag, travel by public transport within the VVS network is free — trams, S-Bahn, and buses can be used without a ticket. This initiative relieves the city center of car traffic and makes the festival easily accessible by train and bus for visitors from Stuttgart and Heilbronn.

Vaihingen and the Heuchelberg Region

Vaihingen an der Enz, with around 30,000 inhabitants, is the largest town in the northern part of the Ludwigsburg district, at the transition from the Stromberg region to the Heuchelberg region. The city is located on the Enz river and at the entrance to the Heuchelberg wine-growing area — Vaihingen itself has a wine-growing tradition and belongs to the Württemberg wine region. Kaltenstein Castle, the historic city walls, and the half-timbered panorama of the old town form the backdrop for Maientag.