December, 2005 - Nr. 12
2006 Major Events in Germany
1 - 31 Jan ‘06
Halle - 1200 Years of Halle
City anniversary celebrations with many events. (
www.halle.de)1 - 31 Jan ‘06
Dresden - 800 Years of Dresden
City anniversary celebrations with many events. (
www.dresden-tourist.de)28 Jan ‘06
Berlin - After-Hours Museum Night
Concerts, plays, literary readings and culinary specialties in more than 100 Berlin museums. (
www.berlin-tourism.de)27 Jan -14 Feb
Munich - Mozart’s 250th Birthday: Music Festival
Weeks of musical celebrations in honour of Mozart’s 250th birthday, staging six of the composer’s operas: La Clemenza di Tito, Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, The Abduction from the Seraglio, Le nozze di Figaro and The Magic Flute. (
www.bayerische.staatsoper.de)24 Feb - 1 Mar ‘06
Cologne - Carnival in Cologne
Called Cologne’s Fifth Season, carnival comes with imaginative costumes, parties and balls, ending with several parades, on Sunday and Rose Monday, the latter with a timely World Soccer Cup theme in 2006. (
www.koelnerkarneval.de)23 Feb - 1 Mar ‘06
Rottweil - Alemannic Carnival
Called Fastnacht, carnival in this fortified town on the Upper Neckar is celebrated in Alemannic tradition, culminating in the Shrove Tuesdays’ Fools Parade, when people wear traditional carved wooden masks. (
www.rottweil.de)Mar - Oct ‘06
Düsseldorf - Quadriennale06
In 2006, Düsseldorf’s museums and cultural institutions stage the first of a series of extraordinary international exhibitions to take place every 4 years hence. Planned for 2006: works of art by Bruce Nauman; Caravaggio; Juan Muñoz. (
www.quadriennale-duesseldorf.de)25 Mar - 17 Apr ‘06
Arnstadt, Eisenach, Erfurt, Weimar, and others - Bach Weeks in Thuringia
Ever since 1992, the leitmotiv for this music festival has been "Johann Sebastian Bach und his contemporaries from Thuringia". (
www.thueringer-bachwochen.de)6 May ‘06
Bonn - ‘Rhine in Flames’
Each year, on the first Saturday in May, the towns on the Rhine in the 30 kilometres between Linz and Bonn celebrate their romantic stretch of the river with big fireworks. (
www.bonn.de)12 - 28 May ‘06
Augsburg - German Mozart Festival 2006
Germany’s Mozart City, Augsburg, celebrates the composer’s 250th birthday with a series of special concerts, many in original Mozart locations, for which top international artists and music ensembles have been engaged. (
www.augsburg-tourismus.de)25 May -11 Jun ‘06
Dresden - Dresdner Music Festival
Dresden’s best musicians perform with international music stars, concerts taking place in the city’s finest castles, palaces, theatres and churches. (
www.musikfestspiele.com)3 June - 5 June ‘06
Frankfurt/Main - Overture to the FIFA World Cup
For 45 minutes on each of the three evenings, lighting effects and images of football stars will be projected - accompanied by music - onto the sides of eleven skyscrapers. Throughout the tournament, 15,000 fans will be able to follow the games free of charge in the MainArena on a giant video screen set up on the river. (
www.wm2006.frankfurt.de)9 Jun - 9 Jul ‘06
FIFA World Soccer Cup
After 32 years, the FIFA World Soccer Cup returns to Germany. (
www.fifaworldcup.yahoo.com)25 Jun - 31 Jul ‘06
Munich - Opera Festival
Opera friends from around the world have been coming to Munich since 1875 to enjoy the rich palette of opera repertoire staged each year during the Festival. (
www.muenchen.de)7 - 9 Jul ‘06
Frankfurt/Main - Riverbank Museum Fest
Frankfurt’s museums lining the Main’s riverbanks put on a multi-faceted programme with many attractions. (
www.frankfurt-tourismus.de)14 - 16 Jul ‘06
Cologne - 16th Cologne Christopher Street Day
On Christopher Street Day, the international holiday of the Gay & Lesbian and Transgender communities, Cologne hosts close to 1 million participants and spectators for the CSD weekend celebrations. (
www.csd-cologne.de)14 Jul - 20 Aug ‘06
Augsburg - Augsburg Jazz Summer
International stars and local jazz musicians join to play concerts in Augsburg’s Botanical Gardens and jam sessions in the city’s clubs and pubs. (
www.augsburg-tourismus.de)25 Jul - 28 Aug ‘06
Bayreuth - Bayreuth Festival
Centrepiece for the 2006 Festival is a new production of Richard Wagner’s four-part ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’. Also playing: The Flying Dutchman; Tristram and Isolde; Parsifal. (
www.bayreuther-festspiele.de)23 Sep - 8 Oct ‘06
Stuttgart - 161th ‘Cannstatter Wasen’ Fest
Every year, millions of guests join the locals to enjoy one of the world’s largest and most attractive beer garden and folk festivals. (
www.cannstatter-volksfest.de)16 Sep - 4 Oct ‘06
Munich - Oktoberfest
17 days of Bavarian ‘gemutlichkeit’, beer, music and party, Oktoberfest attracts more than 6 million visitors from around the world -- consuming as many litres of beer and thousands of sausages. (
www.oktoberfest.de)
23 Nov - 24 Dec ‘06
Traditional Christmas Markets
As Christmas approaches, Germany reveals its most romantic
side. Over 2500 Christmas markets in wonderful settings invite you to share
the joy of the pre-Christmas season. (www.cometogermany.com)
31 Dec ‘06
Berlin - New Year’s Eve Party at the Brandenburg Gate
Berliners welcome the New Year with a gigantic street party. (www.berlin-tourism.de)
For general information on Germany, please contact the German National Tourist Office’s toll free number, 1-877-315-6237, send an e-mail to
gntonyc@d-z-t.com, or visit GNTO’s Web site www.cometogermany.com.
