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How Germany is celebrating the 33rd annual Unity Day

Hamburg is the official host of this year's celebrations to honour the historic day and German public holiday.

Published: 2 October 2023 16:38 CEST
Updated: 3 October 2023 10:33 CEST
Hamburg Unity Day
Hamburg's Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) stands between a group of alphorn blowers during his tour of the German Unity Day festivities in the Harbour City on Monday. picture alliance/dpa | Christian Charisius

Tuesday marks the 33rd German Unity Day, commemorating when East and West Germany officially came together after the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th, 1989.

This year, Hamburg is the official host of the celebrations, with a sprawling two-day Bürgerfest, or citizen’s festival, which started on Monday.

In Bavaria, Oktoberfest remains open until October 3rd partly to mark the occasion. In Berlin, festivities are readily found around the Brandenburg Gate, although an official celebration is not taking place in 2023. 

Various historical exhibits and events will be taking place around the city, according to the capital’s tourism board. Other parts of Germany are not necessarily offering Unity Day-themed events, but rather festivals and performances on the national public holiday and the rest of the week.

READ ALSO:

How is the Harbour City celebrating?

Hamburg kicked off its events on Monday afternoon. 

The Harbour City’s mayor Peter Tschentscher officially opened festival with an appeal for cohesion in a still-divided society. 

“We want to look to the future together. We must be and remain confident and not drift away through populism and polarisation,” said the SPD politician and Bundesrat President on a floating stage on Jungfernstieg. 

READ ALSO: 33 years on: Are East and West Germany growing apart?

At the festival around its Rathaus (town hall) and the Binnenalster lake, the city wants to present itself as a diverse, sustainable and future-oriented metropolis through a colourful line-up of events.

Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) Unity Day speech

Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) speaks on a stage at the Binnenalster at the official opening of the Citizens’ Festival on German Unity Day. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christian Charisius

Already in the morning, numerous visitors took advantage of the mild weather to take a selfie with the mayor in Mönckebergstraße, where the other 15 German states are presenting themselves. The Stiftung Berliner Mauer, who The Local interviewed on its last Germany in Focus podcast, also has a booth dedicated to the day’s history. 

All in all, hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to attend the two-day festival under the motto “Opening Horizons”.

READ ALSO: PODCAST: How Germany remains divided 33 years after reunification

The highlight of the celebrations will be a concert in the Elbphilharmonie on Tuesday.

Beforehand, there will be an ecumenical service in the main church of St. Michaelis – the “Michel”. Both events will be broadcast live on television by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF.

Night of Unity

The “Night of Unity” is planned for Monday evening. Cultural institutions, businesses and churches are planning to keep their doors open until midnight and offer readings, improvised theatre, poetry slams, talk shows, live music, installations and activities. 

In addition to a large floating stage at Jungfernstieg, the Stage of Cultures at the “Hamburg International” event area is also featuring an extensive music programme with tango dancing from Argentina, chansons from France and Beatles hits by singer Stefanie Hempel.

The celebration of German Unity Day is the final and high point of Hamburg’s presidency of the Bundesrat. 

On Tuesday, Mayor Tschentscher will hand over the baton to Manuela Schwesig (SPD), the state premiere of the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.. 

She will take over the office of Bundesrat President starting on November 1st with the motto “Set sail united”. 

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WHAT'S ON IN GERMANY

What’s on in Germany: 9 events not to miss this September

The start of autumn in Germany marks the grand finale of the festival season, and while Oktoberfest is well-known around the world, virtually every German city has a different folk festival to celebrate. Here are some events to check out.

Published: 28 August 2024 16:15 CEST
Updated: 31 August 2024 08:04 CEST
What's on in Germany: 9 events not to miss this September

Do you have an event in Germany that you’d like us to highlight? Let us know by emailing news@thelocal.de

August 23rd to September 9th: Nuremberg’s Autumn Folk Festival 

If you’re keen to experience a proper German beer fest but want to avoid either the high prices or massive crowds at Munich’s Oktoberfest, attending another southern German folk festival is a great place to start.

Nuremberg’s Autumn Folk Festival (Herbstvolksfest) is Bavaria’s second largest, after Oktoberfest, and is a great one for families. According to the event website, it’s also Bavaria’s cleanest and safest folk festival.

Just like at Oktoberfest, visitors can choose from a number of beer tents to drink, dance and sing in. 

Also there is a wide selection of traditional foods and carnival snacks to choose from, as well as a handful of wild rides to experience. Don’t miss the Ferris wheel, or the tall swings around the ‘Bayern Tower’ to catch an incredible view of the Nuremberg Kongresshalle and the surrounding landscape.

There are also some special events in the programme, including a classic car parade on September 7th and a fireworks finale on September 8th.

August 28th – September 6th: Frankfurt’s Rheingau Wine Market

The Rheingau Wine Market takes place each year in the centre of the city on the “Freßgass,” a street which is regularly host to an assortment of epicurean pleasures.

During the market, vintners from around the Rheingau region come together to showcase their wines, and offer tastes (and bottles).

You can choose from over 600 wines and sparkling wines from well-known varietals like Rieslings to rare specialties.

READ ALSO: 9 incredible foods you have to try while visiting Frankfurt

Dippemess kiosk

A cashier at the “Circus Circus” ride at the Frankfurt Dippemess seen in front of trails of light from the spinning gondolas behind him. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Arne Dedert

September 6th to 22nd: Autumn Dippemess

Immediately following the Rheingau Wine Market is another of Frankfurt am Main’s most popular annual events, the Autumn Dippemess.

As Frankfurt’s main folk festival, Dippemess is known for its vibrant carnival atmosphere, culinary delights, wild rides and family fun.

As opposed to the bigger and perhaps rowdier Spring Dippemess, the autumn event is billed as a cosier version – making for a more relaxed affair, and a good reason to stay out late on a September evening despite the earlier sunsets.

September 7th and 8th: Tag des offenen Denkmals, Cologne

Many monuments in Cologne are not usually publicly open, but this changes every year on Open Monument Day.

This year more than 160 locations are hosting events across the city at the local monuments.

READ ALSO: Four of the best day trips from Cologne

From buildings left by the Romans to mediaeval churches to green spaces to modern architectural wonders – for 48 hours all are open and accessible.

Note that some events require registration in advance.

September 7th and 14th: International Fireworks Competition in Hannover 

At the International Fireworks Competition, some of the world’s best pyrotechnics teams are invited to Hannover to set up a show at the Herrenhausen Gardens.

Each team puts on a performance on one of five dates set between May and September, and in the final month of the year’s competition teams from Lithuania and Slovakia are performing on the 7th and the 14th respectively.

Fireworks competition in Hannover

Fireworks seen at the Herrenhausen Gardens in Hannover as part of the international fireworks competition. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Hassan Mahramzadeh / Handout

This year marks the 32nd iteration of the fireworks competition, and each of the teams partaking have not performed at the Herrenhausen Gardens before.

While fireworks are scheduled to start around 9 pm, these events start four hours earlier with various music and performance acts set around the gardens to enjoy leading up to the fiery airborne display.

September 12th to the 15th – and the 21st: Events at Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin 

In the hangars of the old Tempelhof Airport, from the 12th to the 15th, new and contemporary works of art will be on display as part of the Positions Berlin Art Fair.

This year’s fair will feature over 60 exhibitors, presenting works by 200 artists from over 30 countries, with a focus on new perspectives.

Standard tickets are €20 for adults, while children under 18 are free.

The event also overlaps with Berlin Art Week (from the 11th to the 15th) which includes exhibitions and events in galleries across the German capital city.

Giant kites in Berlin

The festival of giant kites in Berlin brings massive kites and kite pilots to Tempelhofer Feld. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/STADT UND LAND Wohnbauten-Gesell | STADT UND LAND Wohnbauten-Gesell

Then on the 21st, you can head back to Tempelhof – this time for the Festival of Giant Kites.

Spectators at this free event can expect to see kites controlled by 80 professional kite pilots, including soaring octopuses with metre-long legs and giant geckos and more.

Other activities at the event include music and talk programmes, kite making, candy throwing, face painting and more.

September 18th to 21st: Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg

In Hamburg’s notorious St. Pauli district, the Reeperbahn Festival offers four days of music, workshops, discussions and more.

Reeperbahn Fest is Europe’s largest club festival and international platform for pop culture, temporarily transforming the Reeperbahn neighbourhood into an international music hub as well as a place to learn about new ideas and projects.

The motto of this year’s fest is “Let the music grow”.

September 21st to October 6th: Munich’s Oktoberfest

Every September millions of people from around the world flock to Munich to attend Oktoberfest, Germany’s largest folk festival and maybe the largest in the world.

The event takes place every day from 10 am to 11:30 pm (weekends from 9 am to midnight) in the city centre at Theresienwiese. Called Wiesn in German, the event’s original name comes from its location.

While various fall folk festivals in Germany offer similar rides, foods and generous servings of beer (including a number of so-called Oktoberfest events in other cities), you can’t beat the original Oktoberfest experience at Wiesn.

So if a Maßkrug of beer (or three) and an evening of song, dance and perhaps stumbling onto a roller coaster sounds fun to you, don the best Lederhosen or Dirndl you can find and catch a train to the Bavaria capital. 

September 27th to October 13th: Stuttgart’s Cannstatter Volksfest

For those living in Baden-Württemberg, if you’re keen for a folk festival but not excited about trekking across the country, you could skip Wiesn and instead head to Wasen for the Cannstatter Volksfest.

Canstatter Volksfest parade

View of the large historical folk festival parade on the Cannstatter Wasen, where women and men wear traditional costumes from various regions. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Schmidt

Like many German folk festivals, Stuttgart’s begins with an official barrel tapping ceremony on the first day and ends with a fireworks display on the final evening. In between there are a number of other special events including the festival parade on the 29th or family days on October 2nd and 9th.

Additionally, visitors can expect to pick up on bits of the local Swabian culture.

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