Bonn Events and Festivals

(Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)

Bonn stages a multitude of festivals all through the year, but the main festival season is between November and April, when the carnival comes to town. There are plenty of things to see and do in Bonn and popular festivals and events are included in the monthly listings magazines De Schnuss and Bonner Illustrierte, which are available at any newsagent.

Beer drinking festivals are exspecially popular, though not rivalling Munich's Oktoberfest. There are also plenty of seasonal markets, such as the Christmas market and the Fishmarket.

National Public Holidays

• 1st January (New Year's Day)
• Late March or early April - Good Friday / Easter Sunday / Easter Monday
• 1st May (Labour Day)
• Early May - Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter
• May / June - Whit / Pentecost Sunday and Monday
• 3rd October (Day of German Unity)
• 25th December (Christmas Day)
• 26th December (Boxing Day / St. Stephen's Day)

Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• Carnival (Bonner Karneval) - although the season begins at 11:11 on the 11th day of November, most festivities start in January, with colourful parades and plenty of entertainment for everyone

February

• Carnival - on the day before Shrove Tuesday, carnival parades can be found everywhere. The definitive highlight of this period is the flurry at the key ceremony, when the town's mayor stands on Market Square and hands over the key to the 'couple of the city'
• Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) - February / March, the highlight of the German Carnival season, held on the Collop Monday ahead of Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Celebrations typically feature fancy costumes, dancing, parades, serious drinking and general public exhibits of debauchery
• Women's Carnival - February / March, held on the last Thursday before Fastnacht, when women play pranks such as cutting off men's ties

March

• Easter - late March / early April, begins on Good Friday, when people eat fish as a part of the Easter feast. Celebrations also include Easter fires, Easter bunnies and lovely decorated eggs. Parents hide chocolate eggs for children to find

April

• Flea Market - is held on every third Sunday between April and October. This is the country's largest flea market, with booths and stalls lining up along four kilometres in the Rheinaue Park

May

• Rhine in Flames - held on the first Saturday in May, is the largest and longest firework show in the Rheinauen region, attracting over a 100,000 spectators. When darkness falls, 100 ships sail along the Rhine from Koblenz to the Bonn Rheinauen
• Bonn Summer - held from May to late October, featuring over 100 events, it focuses mainly on the 'Dialogue between Cultures'

June

• No significant events and festivals in Bonn in the month of June

July

• German F1 Grand Prix - held at the nearby Nürburgring, alternating every second year with the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg
• Bonner Bierbörse - is a beer drinking festival held at the end of July. More than 600 brews from all over the world can be sampled and national and international music bands perform on the open-air stage

August

• International Beethovenfest - held from the end of August to the end of September, paying tribute to the famous Ludwig van Beethoven. The Beethoven Orchestra Bonn performs many of his works

September

• Pützchens Markt - takes place in the first and second week of September. It was originally a pilgrim's market, but today is one of the region's major folk festivals. It customarily kicks off with a church service and the opening of the cask

October

• Fishmarket - is held over a weekend and features stalls and stands from Germany and beyond on the Bonn Münsterplatz and the Bad Godesburg 'Theaterplatz'. Regional fish specialities are on offer
• Day of German Unity - held on 3rd October, commemorating the union of East and West Germany
• Three Bridge Run - held in mid-October, with the start and finish point under the Kennedy Bridge on the Rhine embankment. Two runs are organised - 10 km / 6 miles and 30 km / 19 miles

November

• Christmas Market - is held from the end of November to 23rd December on the Bonn Münsterplatz. Plenty of Christmas treats are on sale here, including Lebkuchen and home-brewed schnapps

December

• St. Nikolaus Day - on the night of 6th December children put up boots to be filled with sweets and goodies
• Christmas - is celebrated with lots of fanfare in Germany. While mainly a family celebration, the many Christmas markets springing up in town squares are fine attractions for visitors