Vellberg Wine Fountain Festival

Wine from the Market Fountain — A Historical Gesture

Vellberg, with only 4,600 inhabitants, is one of Baden-Württemberg's smallest towns, yet it boasts one of the most atmospheric old towns in the Heilbronn-Franken region: town wall, moat, four surviving gates, dense half-timbered houses, the medieval city castle on the edge of the old town — and in the market square, the Market Fountain from 1720, from which Württemberg red wine flows for three July days. The tradition dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries: Vellberg knights collected the Weinzehnt (wine tithe) from Württemberg's Unterland and had the right publicly presented in a ritualized form. Since 1968, the Weinbrunnenfest has brought this historical practice to the market square as an annual festival.

Schedule — Three Days on the First Weekend of July

The festival begins on Friday evening with the opening of the wine fountain by the Herald — dressed in historical costume, he proclaims the town's right to the wine tithe from the Unterland and symbolically opens the fountain. Afterwards, Württemberg red wine flows from the fountain for festival-goers to taste. Throughout the weekend, several catering stations with evocative names are spread out: Löschbunker (Firefighting Bunker), Weinbrunnen (Wine Fountain), Pavillon (Pavilion) — and further culinary and musical attractions.

Atmosphere — Illuminated Old Town

As darkness falls, Vellberg's old town, with its town walls, towers, and half-timbered houses, is atmospherically illuminated — one of the most intense festival backdrops in Baden-Württemberg. Live music (typically acoustic trios, singer-songwriters, small jazz ensembles) accompanies the evenings without the loudness of a typical city festival. This makes the Weinbrunnenfest a hybrid between a folk festival and a cultural event — a format that attracts guests from the Schwäbisch Hall district, from Heilbronn, the Hohenlohe district, and the Stuttgart region.

Vellberg in the Heilbronn-Franken Region

Vellberg is located in the Schwäbisch Hall district in northeastern Baden-Württemberg, about 12 kilometers south of Schwäbisch Hall. The town is one of the oldest imperial cities in the region and has largely preserved its medieval town center. The historical substance makes Vellberg a tourist destination in the Hohenlohe-Franconia area. The Weinbrunnenfest is the annual staging of this special identity — wine, history, and architecture in a dense symbiosis.