Local festivals

Over the centuries, the people of the Rhine have endured many hardships but they've also benefited from the exchange of cultures that comes from being a trading route. Today, there are many festivals that celebrate this history—and most of them involve the local product that has been here through it all… wine!

The series of festivals begins with the crazy season, known in various parts of Germany as 'Fassenacht' or 'Fasching'. Here it is most commonly called 'carnival'. Koblenz and many small towns and villages join in, and all pay homage to the god Jokus.

The first wine springtime festivals are held as early as in April, followed by the vine-blossom festival, culinary summer evenings, wine markets, local feasts, rifle-club festivals as well as traditional church dedication celebrations. The programme ends with classic wine, vintner or grape-harvest festivals, when it is time for the grape-picking and the air is laden with the aroma of fresh grape juice and the fermenting wines.

With so many proud castles stretching into the sky, it is a natural place to revive and relive the Middle Ages. The best example of this is the Middle Ages Spectacle in Oberwesel and the castle market in St. Goar. Then there is a whole series of other festivals, including Weinhexennacht, Nacht der Verführung, the Hilchenfest, Reblausfest, Adelgundismarkt, and Hansenfest.