Volks- und Heimatfest Holt

The best weekend of the year in Holt

When the St. Michaels Bruderschaft Mönchengladbach-Holt prepares for its shooting festival, everything in the Holt district revolves around the proclamation of the king, the opening of the festival tent, and the parade for four weeks. The Brotherhood, founded in 1861, is one of the most traditional shooting associations on the Lower Rhine and belongs to the Federation of Historical German Shooting Brotherhoods. Its home and folk festival on the fourth weekend after Pentecost is not just a club festival — but an identity marker for the entire district.

19 to 22 June 2026 — the four festival days

The 2026 edition runs from Friday, 19 June, to Monday, 22 June. As in all years, the festival follows the classic Lower Rhine shooting festival pattern:

• Friday evening: Festival tent opening with a dance evening
• Saturday: Royal parade, king's shooting, royal ball
• Sunday: Festival high mass in St. Michael's, grand parade through Holt, festival ceremony
• Monday: Coronation brunch, festival finale

2026 historically significant — first father-son royal couple

The 2026 edition will go down in the club's annals: Marcus Nösen, a member of the Blauen Offiziere Engelsholt, will be King, thus forming a father-son royal house with his son Hannes Nösen for the first time in the club's history. This constellation has not occurred since the Brotherhood was founded in 1861 — a detail that the Brotherhood celebrates accordingly on its channels. The monarchs are supported by Brotherhood leaders Henning Hußmann and Jürgen Wende — an experienced team that perfectly manages the preparations.

The Brotherhood and its Tradition

The St. Michaels Bruderschaft Mönchengladbach-Holt sees itself as a bearer of Catholic-bourgeois customs and traditions. The patron saint, Archangel Michael (feast day 29 September), gives the Brotherhood its name and identity. Beyond the shooting festival, the Brotherhood organizes club evenings, shooting events, May devotions, and joint appearances at the shooting festivals of neighboring clubs in the Mönchengladbach area throughout the year.

Holt — District in Northern Mönchengladbach

The district of Holt is located in northern Mönchengladbach, on the border with Wickrath. The district center with the parish church of St. Michael, the festival grounds, and the traditional club pub forms the stage for the home festival. Here, most of the shooting brothers have known each other since their school days — the shooting festival is as much a tradition as a social family event.

Lower Rhine Shooting Festival — What does it mean?

The Lower Rhine shooting festival is not the Upper Bavarian Volksfest with Lederhosen, but a hybrid of Catholic civic tradition, military-historical uniform care, and exuberant sociability. A festival tent with a live band, grand parades with marching music, a shooting mass with flag consecration — and at the end, a new royal couple who will represent the Brotherhood for the next twelve months. A visit to the Holt home festival offers an authentic insight into a vibrant Rhenish tradition.