Westviertel District Festival Jena

24th District Festival in Jena's Westviertel

The Westfest (officially "Westfe(tz)st") is the traditional district festival of Jena's Westviertel — one of the most densely populated residential areas in the university city. The 24th edition takes place on Saturday, April 25th, and Sunday, April 26th, 2026, at the Westsportplatz. The organizer is the Initiative Westsportplatz e.V., a dedicated association that maintains the sports ground as a meeting point for the district and has been organizing the season opening and district festival for years.

Maypole Raising as Kick-off

The highlight on Saturday is the raising of the first two Maypoles of the Jena season. A small Maypole is decorated by the children themselves — the large Maypole is a team effort between the city, the forestry office, the volunteer fire department, florists, and municipal service providers. Around 12:30 PM, the local Sparkasse branch will hand over a donation check for the further enhancement of the sports facility.

Sports, Games, and Family Activities

The weekend is focused on sports and family: On Saturday, there will be beach volleyball games for recreational athletes, as well as skill competitions like XXL football darts and ladder golf. Sunday is dedicated to sports competitions, with a hobby football tournament and more beach volleyball. For children, there is a craft street, a cargo slide, a renovated trampoline, and bouncy castles, as well as small catering options.

Jena — University City in the Saale Valley

Jena in the state of Thuringia is a university city and a center of science (Friedrich Schiller University, Carl Zeiss, Jenoptik) — and at the same time, with 110,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt. The Westviertel is one of the four traditional city districts and the most densely populated residential area — the Initiative Westsportplatz is dedicated to preserving the Westsportplatz as a social meeting point in the heart of the district.