A jour­ney through time and a spec­tacle of light: Wit­ten­berg cel­eb­rates the Reform­a­tion Fest­iv­al 2026

His­tor­ic­al mar­ket spec­tacle, torch­light pro­ces­sion and cul­tur­al pro­gramme on 31 Octo­ber in Wittenberg’s Old Town 

On Sat­urday, 31 Octo­ber 2026, Luth­er­stadt Wit­ten­berg invites you to its Reform­a­tion Fest­iv­al in the his­tor­ic Old Town. Under the motto ​‘His­tor­ic, fest­ive and lively’, guests can look for­ward to a var­ied pro­gramme fea­tur­ing music, tra­di­tion­al crafts, church ser­vices and con­certs. The His­tor­ic­al Mar­ket Spec­tacle from 11.00 am to 7.00 pm and the grand torch­light pro­ces­sion at 5.00 pm are among the high­lights of the day. Admis­sion to the Mar­ket Spec­tacle and the torch­light pro­ces­sion is free.

His­tor­ic­al Mar­ket Spec­tacle in the Old Town 

From the mar­ket square via the Cranach-Hof and Schlossplatz to the Schlosswiese, his­tory comes to life. Music from Luther’s time, jug­glers, his­tor­ic­al mar­ket stalls and tra­di­tion­al crafts char­ac­ter­ise the mar­ket spec­tacle. The tav­erns also offer hearty food and drink. 

Under the motto ​‘His­tor­ic, fest­ive and lively’, the town com­mem­or­ates Reform­a­tion Day and the impact of the 95 Theses, with which Mar­tin Luth­er sparked a world­wide move­ment in 1517. 

Torch­light pro­ces­sion with the child Luth­er couple 

As dusk falls, the grand torch­light pro­ces­sion begins at 5.00 pm at the Luth­er House. Led by the child Luth­er couple, fam­il­ies, min­strels and his­tor­ic­al soci­et­ies make their way through the old town with torches and lan­terns to the Schlosswiese. There, the pro­ces­sion draws to a close amidst music, light install­a­tions and warm­ing fire pits. 

Bring­ing your own lan­terns and cos­tumes is very much encour­aged. Any­one wish­ing to make their own lan­tern will find a craft work­shop on the Schlosswiese; mater­i­als will be provided on site. 

New to the pro­gramme: take a jour­ney through time with the photo booth 

On Schlossplatz, near the Thesentür, a photo booth invites vis­it­ors to embark on a per­son­al jour­ney through time for the first time. Guests arrive in every­day clothes – and find them­selves in the middle of the Reform­a­tion era in their pho­tos. Five spe­cially designed scenes offer dif­fer­ent per­spect­ives on life around 500 years ago: from a tongue-in-cheek pat on the back with the Reformers, to the nail­ing of the Theses at the Schlosskirche, to Luther’s table talks and a vis­it to Cranach’s studio.

No spe­cial cos­tume is required. The AI-powered photo booth com­bines his­tor­ic­al back­drops with the present day, cre­at­ing a per­son­al­ised memento of your vis­it to the festival. 

Con­certs, church ser­vices and new food for thought

Along­side the mar­ket fest­iv­it­ies, spe­cial ser­vices at the Castle Church and St Mary’s Church, guided tours and oth­er cul­tur­al events offer oppor­tun­it­ies to explore the Reform­a­tion and the ques­tions it raises that remain rel­ev­ant to this day. These include an a cap­pella con­cert by the group Höfisch Ges­ang in the Cor­pus Christi Chapel and the tra­di­tion­al lec­ture in the Friedrich Schor­lem­mer series in the Cranach Foundation’s paint­ing studio. 

In the even­ing, there will be a fest­ive con­cert fea­tur­ing sax­o­phone and organ in the Castle Church at 5.00 pm, Mozart’s Coron­a­tion Mass in the Stadtkirche at 6.30 pm, and the magic­al music­al revue ​‘TRIX’ at the Stadthaus at 8.00 pm. 

Inform­a­tion for vis­it­ors to the festival 

Date: Sat­urday, 31 Octo­ber 2026 
His­tor­ic­al mar­ket spec­tacle: 11.00 am to 7.00 pm; some events in the day’s pro­gramme begin as early as 7.00 am. 
Pro­ces­sion of Lights: 5.00 pm from the Luth­er House to the Schlosswiese. 
Admis­sion: The His­tor­ic­al Mar­ket Spec­tacle, the torch­light pro­ces­sion and many church ser­vices are free of charge. 
Shop­ping: The shops in the Old Town are open and invite you to have a browse. 

The full pro­gramme of events and fur­ther inform­a­tion can be found at www​.wit​ten​ber​ger​-reform​a​tionsfest​.de 

Organ­iser and part­ners 

Luth­er­stadt Wit­ten­berg Mar­ket­ing GmbH organ­ises the His­tor­ic­al Mar­ket Spec­tacle on behalf of Luth­er­stadt Wit­ten­berg. The fest­iv­al is sup­por­ted by region­al part­ners such as Stadtwerke Luth­er­stadt Wit­ten­berg GmbH, as well as church insti­tu­tions and his­tor­ic­al societies. 

Con­tact 
Luth­er­stadt Wit­ten­berg Mar­ket­ing GmbH 
Markt 26, 06886 Luth­er­stadt Wit­ten­berg 
Tele­phone: +49 (0)3491 419260 
Email: marketing@​wittenberg.​de 

Pro­ject Man­ager, His­tor­ic­al Mar­ket Spec­tacle 
Denis Lehmann Email: denis.​lehmann@​wittenberg.​de 

Press accred­it­a­tion 
Diana Wen­zel 
Email: diana.​wenzel@​wittenberg.​de