IBU-Biathlon World Cup 

Exciting competitions of the top athletes from all over the world thrill the spectators in the winter sports centre Oberhof in the Thuringian Forest.

09 - 12 January 2025, Oberhof 
www.biathlon-weltcup-oberhof.com 

Thüringer Bachwochen 

At the largest music festival in Thuringia specialising in baroque music, the authentic places where Johann Sebastian Bach lived and worked are the podium and setting for demanding concerts.

21 March – 14 April 2024, Thuringia
11 April - 04 May 2025, Thuringia 
www.thueringer-bachwochen.de 

 

Thuringian State Exhibition 2025 

the Mühlhausen museums and the Panorama Museum in Bad Frankenhausen in 2025 under the title "freiheyt 1525 - 500 Jahre Bauernkrieg" (Freedom 1525. 500 Years since the German Peasants’ War). Both towns are central sites of the historical event.

26 April - 19 October 2025, Mühlhausen
10 May - 17 August 2025, Bad Frankenhausen 
www.bauernkrieg2025.de 

 

Köstritzer Spiegelzelt 

Small-scale art in a magnificent event tent setting, plus refined gastronomy - this is the combination offered by the Köstritzer Spiegelzelt in Weimar. Every early summer, top acts from the worlds of art and entertainment meet here.

02 May – 16 June 2024, Weimar
May - June 2025, Weimar
www.koestritzer-spiegelzelt.de 

 

GutsMuths Rennsteiglauf 

The cross-country run on the Rennsteig is the largest landscape run in Central Europe. Every year, around 15,000 runners, Nordic walkers and hikers take part. The supreme course is the super marathon from Eisenach to Schmiedefeld.

25 May 2024, Thuringian Forest
17 May 2025, Thuringian Forest
www.rennsteiglauf.de 

 

Thüringer Schlössertage 

On the Whitsun holidays, Thuringian castles and palaces open their doors again.

17 – 20 May 2024, Thuringia
06 – 09 June 2025, Thuringia
22 - 25 May 2026, Thuringia
www.schatzkammer-thueringen.de/schloessertage-pfingsten 

 

Weimarer Sommer 

Highlights include the open-air concert night with the Staatskapelle, the Weimar Master Classes of the Hochschule für Musik "Franz Liszt" Weimar, the façade projection festival Genius Loci, the Weimar Art Festival and the events surrounding Goethe's birthday.

Summer 2024, Weimar 
www.weimarer-sommer.de 

 

Krämerbrückenfest 

Street theatre, artists and jugglers fill the alleys and squares with music, cabaret and play scenes. Thuringian craftsmen present their products at a medieval market around Krämerbrücke.

14 - 16 June 2024, Erfurt 
13 - 15 June 2025, Erfurt (50th anniversary) 
www.erfurt-tourismus.de 

 

Thüringer Schlossfestspiele Sondershausen 

The most popular open-air festival in the border triangle of Thuringia, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt continues the rich musical tradition of Sondershausen. Against the backdrop of the castle, the area is transformed into a special theatre stage.

16 June - 17 July 2024, Sondershausen 
www.schlossfestspiele-sondershausen.de 

 

MDR Musiksommer 

Concerts at the most beautiful locations in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia make the MDR Music Summer an unmistakable music festival in Central Germany.

02 – 31 August 2024, Thuringia
www.mdr-musiksommer.de 

 

26th Ekhof-Festival at Friedenstein Castle 

Friedenstein Castle in Gotha is home to one of the oldest baroque theatres in the world with still existing and functioning stage machinery. Here, historical productions with 18th century sets and costumes enchant the audience.  the most beautiful locations in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia make the MDR Music Summer an unmistakable music festival in Central Germany.

01 June – 07 September 2024, Gotha 
www.ekhof-festival.de 

 

Rudolstadt Festival 

Germany's most important folk and world music festival attracts musicians from all over the world to Rudolstadt. There is music and dance on more than 20 stages - in the park, in the castle courtyard, on the streets and squares of the old town. 

04 – 07 July 2024, 
03 - 06 July 2025, Rudolstadt 
www.rudolstadt-festival.de 

 

KulturArena 

Here, no gladiators but lots of cultural events enter the arena on Jena's theatre forecourt. The festival with concerts, theatre and cinema offers stars as well as newcomers an exciting platform - and the audience the best entertainment. The festival traditionally opens with the theatre's summer spectacle.

03 July - 18 August 2024, Jena
02 July - 17 August 2025, Jena 
www.kulturarena.de 

 

Cathedral Steps Festival 

During the DomStufen Festival, the 70 steps of the Domberg are transformed into a spectacular open-air festival stage.

The programme in 2024:
“Anatevka” by Jerry Bock, (original title: Fiddler on the Roof) 

02 – 23 August 2024, Erfurt 
www.domstufen-festspiele.de 

 

SonneMondSterne Open-Air 

Every year on the second weekend in August, an exuberant audience celebrates one of the largest open-air festivals of electronic dance music on the shores of the Thuringian Sea near Saalburg.

08 - 11 August 2024, Saalburg
07 - 10 August 2025, Saalburg 
www.sonnemondsterne.de 

 

ACHAVA Festival Thuringia 

The Hebrew word "ACHAVA" means brotherhood and is the key word for the themes of humanity, peace, tolerance and dialogue that characterise the festival. In addition to great concerts by international artists, there are exhibitions, panel discussions, series of talks and school programmes. 

08 – 22 September 2024, Erfurt
07 - 21 September 2025, Erfurt 
www.achava-festspiele.de 

 

Weimar Onion Market 

Nothing goes on the second weekend in October in Weimar without onions: on the cake, in the soup or in the famous plait - the Weimar onion market is legendary. More than 300,000 visitors enjoy the state of emergency in the city of classics.

11 – 13 October 2024, Weimar
10 - 12 October 2025, Weimar
www.weimar.de 

Caspar David Friedrich

To celebrate his 250th birthday, the works of Caspar David Friedrich, one of the most important German Romantic artists, are returning to Weimar. The exhibition shows the Weimar Friedrich collection for the first time, as well as many other works by Romantic artists.

22 November 2024 - 02 March 2025, Weimar
www.klassik-stiftung.de/en/exhibition/caspar-david-friedrich/

Erfurt Christmas Market

The medieval old town and the cathedral square are the ideal setting for an atmospheric pre-Christmas season. Traditional crafts and Thuringian specialities can be found as well as a 12m high, original Erzgebirge Christmas pyramid. 

26 November – 22 December 2024, Erfurt
15 November - 22 December 2024, Erfurt 
www.weihnachtsmarkt.erfurt.de 

 

Weimar Christmas Market  

The classical city of Weimar shines with traditions: Germany's first public Christmas tree stood here in front of the house of Johannes Falk, who also wrote the carol "O Du Fröhliche" (O Merry Christmas). 

26 November 2024 – 05 January 2025, Weimar 
www.weimar.de 

 

Christmas at Wartburg Castle 

Wartburg Castle near Eisenach enchants its visitors at this time of year with a historic Christmas market and enjoyable Advent concerts.

On the first three Advent weekends, Wartburg Castle Eisenach 
www.wartburg.de 

Lauschaer Kugelmarkt 

The birthplace of the Christmas tree bauble is the small village of Lauscha in the middle of the Thuringian Forest. Even today, everything in Lauscha revolves around glass Christmas tree decorations. On the first and second weekend of Advent, regional artisans and numerous glass traders offer Christmas tree decorations and other works of art made of glass at the bauble market.

On the first two Advent weekends, Lauscha
www.lauscha.de