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EVENTS

7 unmissable events in Germany this July

From medieval pageantry to fast-paced funfairs, July is packed full of great events in Germany.

Visitors walk across the Rheinkirmes in July 2022.
Visitors walk across the Rheinkirmes in July 2022. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Rolf Vennenbernd

Until August 8th: Burgfestspiele in Bad Vilbel, Hessen

The Burgfestspiele is an annual open-air theatre festival held in Bad Vilbel, Hesse – less than a half-hour train ride outside of Frankfurt am Main. Although already well underway since May, July is the last – and arguably the best – month to catch a show here.

The festival takes place in the picturesque setting of the Burgfestspiele Castle, which dates back to the 12th century and provides a unique backdrop for the performances which cater to a wide range of tastes, including classical and contemporary works to innovative and experimental productions.

READ ALSO: 9 of the best day trips from Frankfurt with the €49 ticket

As well as the main theatrical performances, the Burgfestspiele in Bad Vilbel includes supporting events and activities such as art exhibitions, workshops and literary readings.

June 30th to July 2nd: Kreuzberg Festival, Berlin

For one weekend in July, the area around Bergmannstrasse in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin is transformed into a hub of live jazz music and filled with stalls selling culinary delights as well as arts and crafts.

Formally known as the Bergmannstrassenfest, the Kreuzberg Festival has been running since 1994 and is a well-loved event for jazz and culture enthusiasts from Berlin and beyond.

Visitors can listen to numerous artists from Germany and around the world on stages set up in the streets, where road traffic is temporarily banned. And the best thing about the festival is: it’s absolutely free!

June 30th to July 23rd: Landshuter Hochzeit, Bavaria

The Landshuter Hochzeit – or the Landshut Wedding – is a historical festival and reenactment that takes place in the city of Landshut in Bavaria once every four years. So don’t miss out this year, or you’ll have to wait until 2027 for the next instalment!

In a grand medieval spectacle that attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world for several weeks, the festival commemorates the wedding of Duke Georg the Rich of Bavaria-Landshut and Princess Hedwig Jagiellon of Poland, in 1475.

Women and children in historical dress wave to spectators during the Landshut Wedding parade in Landshut, Bavaria, in 2017. Photo: picture alliance / Armin Weigel/dpa | Armin Weigel

During the festival, the city transforms into a living medieval town, recreating the atmosphere and traditions of the late Middle Ages and featuring a wide range of events, including parades, jousting tournaments, historical processions, knightly competitions, music and dance performances, and medieval markets.

July 6th to 9th: Rudolstadt Festival, Thuringia

The Rudolstadt Festival is an annual music festival held in the town of Rudolstadt in Thuringia and is one of the largest and most renowned folk and world music festivals in Europe.

Over the years, the festival has gained a reputation as a close observer and promoter of political currents in folk and world music, and this year will feature a number of politically engaged artists, performers and bands whose music is about love, feminism, discrimination and tolerance.

Huderich, a Dresden musician from the “Folxkunstkollektiv” plays in the Handwerkerhof at the Rudolstadt Festival. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Martin Schutt

Multiple stages and venues are set up throughout the town, in parks, churches, historical buildings, and on open-air stages, so that attendees can themselves in different musical experiences. 

As well as the live performances, the festival offers an array of activities and events including workshops, panel discussions, cultural exhibitions, and film screenings.

July 22nd to July 30th: Libori, Paderborn

Every year as the end of July approaches, the city of Paderborn in North Rhine-Westphalia hosts one of Germany’s oldest and largest folk festivals.

Lasting for nine days, the Libori Festival combines elements of religious tradition into an international festival, that features a lively fairground and a cultural hub known as the Liboriberg.

Visitors wander between funfair stalls on the Liboriberg in Paderborn at Libori, 2022. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Lino Mirgeler

The town hall square transforms into a vibrant concert venue and dance floor, while the Franz-Stock-Platz hosts a variety of events from acrobatics to comedy, theatre, and puppet shows.

The festival began in the year 836 when the relics of St. Liborius were brought back from Le Mans to the episcopal city of Paderborn. Now, it attracts up to 1.8 million visitors every year.

July 14th to 23rd: Rheinkirmes, Düsseldorf

Rheinkirmes, also known as the Rhine Funfair or Rhine Carnival, is one of the largest and most popular funfairs in Germany. It takes place annually in Düsseldorf on the banks of the Rhine River. 

During Rheinkirmes, the Oberkassel Rheinwiesen, a large meadow area on the banks of the Rhine, is transformed into a bustling fairground with a variety of attractions, including rides, traditional fairground games, food stalls offering delicious treats, and performances. The fair is known for its lively atmosphere, bright lights, and festive decorations.

The Rheinkirmes fireworks display can be seen above the Rheinkniebrücke in Düsseldorf in July, 2018.

The Rheinkirmes fireworks display can be seen above the Rheinkniebrücke in Düsseldorf in July 2018. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jana Bauch

Rheinkirmes also has a strong historical significance, as it is closely associated with the St. Sebastianus Schützenverein, a marksmen’s association in Düsseldorf with a history dating back over 700 years. The fair coincides with the feast day of their patron saint, St. Apollinaris, on July 23rd. As part of the festivities, the association organizes the “Historic Procession,” a grand parade featuring thousands of shooters in traditional uniforms and marching bands.

Another highlight of the festival is the annual firework display which takes place on the last Friday of the festival, which this year will be July 21st. 

July 23rd to 31st: Munich Opera Festival

The Munich Opera Festival is organised by the Bavarian State Opera, one of the world’s leading opera houses, and features a diverse program of opera performances, ballet productions and concerts.

The performances are often characterised by innovative stage productions, elaborate sets, lavish costumes, and top-notch musical interpretations.

READ ALSO: Nine of the best day trips from Munich with the €49 ticket

The Munich Opera Festival showcases a wide range of operatic works, including classic masterpieces, contemporary compositions, and lesser-known gems. The performances are held in various venues around the city, including the historic National Theatre (Nationaltheater), the Prinzregententheater and Cuvilliés Theatre.

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CRIME

Munich police kill ‘terror’ suspect in shootout near Israel consulate

German police shot dead a man who opened fire on them Thursday in what they treated as a foiled "terrorist attack" on Munich's Israeli consulate on the anniversary of the 1972 Olympic Games killings.

Munich police kill 'terror' suspect in shootout near Israel consulate

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Bavarian police “may have prevented something terrible from happening today”, declaring in a post on X that “anti-Semitism and Islamism have no place here”.

Austrian police, who later raided his home, said the 18-year-old man, who had Bosnian roots, had been investigated last year for possible “terrorist” links on suspicion he had become “religiously radicalised”.

He had assaulted classmates and shown an online interest in explosives and weapons, they said, but prosecutors dropped the case in April 2023.

Bavarian state premier Markus Söder said “there is a terrible suspicion” the case was linked to Thursday’s anniversary of the deadly 1972 attack on Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich by Palestinian militants.

The shootout around 9 am sparked a mass mobilisation of about 500 police in downtown Munich, where residents and office workers huddled indoors as sirens wailed and a helicopter flew above.

Video footage published by German media showed dramatic scenes in which police commandos in body armour and helmets took cover from gunshots, then unleashed a barrage of bullets.

Police said five police officers fired at the man, who died on the spot with his weapon beside him – a rifle that pictures showed was fitted with a bayonet.

Munich police wrote on social media platform X that, after the shooting, there were “no indications of any other suspects” and that no one else was injured. 

German authorities were treating the incident as a “possible attack on an Israeli institution”, said Bavarian state interior minister Joachim Herrmann.

Herrmann also noted that Thursday marked “the 52nd anniversary of the terrible attack on the Israeli team during the Olympic Games” of 1972.

Eleven Israeli athletes and a German police officer were killed at the Games after gunmen from the Palestinian Black September group broke into the Olympic village and took them hostage.

Talya Lador-Fresher, Consul General of the State of Israel for Southern Germany, wrote on Facebook: “We are very grateful to the police forces in Munich for their actions and co-operation. This event shows how dangerous the rise in anti-Semitism is.

“It is important that the general public raise their voices against it. Our Consulate General was closed today to commemorate 52 years since the terrorist attack at the Olympic Games.”

police in Munich

Numerous police officers in downtown Munich near the Nazi Documentation Center and the Israeli Consulate General. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Simon Sachseder

The exchange of gunfire sparked panic and a widespread police lockdown in a central area of the Bavarian state capital, near the Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism.

A police helicopter was in the sky above the area and the sound of police sirens blared through the streets.

A resident told the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) that they had heard shots and police sirens. SZ also obtained a video taken by a resident looking out of their window at the street below in which a series of rapid shots are heard.

Another eyewitness told Bild newspaper: “It took several minutes for the first police officers to come up behind him. They then shot at him at least 30 to 40 times. After that I only heard them shouting: ‘He’s lying on the ground, he’s not moving.'” 

According to reports, the man was pronounced dead at the scene at around 10.30 am.

The police called on people to avoid the area around Briennerstraße and Karolinenplatz. Traffic barriers were put in place. 

“Emergency services are on their way to the site…To ensure that they can work without hindrance, we ask that you avoid this area as much as possible,” the Munich Police said in an earlier statement on X.

In another post, they called on people to refrain from speculating or sharing misinformation, and said that as soon as information is confirmed they will share it publicly.

‘Moments of great fear’

Söder, the state premier, thanked police and voiced relief.

“Munich held its breath for a time, there were moments of great fear about what could happen,” he said at a press conference.

“Luckily it turned out well in the end, no one was hurt and only the perpetrator was eliminated.”

He also said that “the protection of Jewish institutions is of central importance to us”.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had earlier called it a “serious incident” and said the location was a “bitter pill to swallow”, also noting that “the protection of Jewish and Israeli institutions is of the highest priority”.

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza after the October 7th attack, many Jewish communities worldwide have been targeted in attacks and hate crimes.

This is a special cause of concern in Germany, which in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust has committed itself to steadfast support for Israel.

A record number of 5,164 anti-Semitic crimes were recorded in 2023, up from 2,641 the year before, according to German internal intelligence.

The Central Council of Jews in Germany estimates that there are around 100,000 practising Jews in the country and around 100 synagogues.

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