A Volksfest (“people’s festival”) is a type of festival in German-speaking countries which usually combines a traveling funfair and a beer or wine festival. Attractions typically include beer tents and beer gardens, food and merchandise vendors, games of skill and chance, and amusement rides. Such events usually take place around the same time every year.
Volksfests are especially common in the German state of Bavaria with its distinct culture that includes a distinctive dialect, cuisine, architecture, traditional costumes, music, and festivals. While Oktoberfest is the world’s largest and most famous Volksfest, Bavaria hosts many other popular Volksfests. One of them is the Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing, widely regarded as the second largest event of its kind in Bavaria.
The Gäubodenvolksfest was founded in 1812 by King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria as an agricultural fair in the Lower Danube Circle region (Unterdonaukreis). It was originally not an annual event. Starting in 1819, the fair was held alternately in Straubing and Passau, and its program expanded to include entertainment such as bowling alleys, shooting ranges, lottery booths, parades, and a fireworks display. In 1837, Landshut joined the fair’s host cities.
In 1898, the agricultural fair was transformed into a Volksfest, and Straubing became its only host city. That year, it attracted around 25,000 visitors, which was 8,000 people more than Straubing’s population at the time. The festival was held every two years and went on hiatus during World War I and World War II. Once World War II was over, the festival was revived in 1947, received its current name in 1949, and switched to an annual format in 1962.
Today, the Gäubodenvolksfest is one of the largest Volkfests in Germany. Even though the majority of visitors are local, it attracts more than a million people every year. The festival is held every August around the feast of the Assumption of Mary (August 15), usually beginning on the Friday before the feast and ending 11 days later on a Monday. If the feast of Assumption falls on a Friday or Saturday, the Gäubodenvolksfest begins on the Friday a week before.
The Gäubodenvolksfest is a family-friendly festival with a rich and exciting program targeted at adults and children alike. It features amusement rides, including roller coasters and carousels, beer tents showcasing the products of local breweries (only breweries from Straubing and the Straubing-Bogen district are allowed to serve their beer at the festival), beer tastings, a colorful parade with around 3,500 participants, food stalls, open-air concerts, horse racing, sporting events, fireworks, and more.
The festival runs concurrently with the Ostbayernschau, a consumer exhibition showcasing local goods. The venue of the exhibition is directly adjacent to the amusement park that hosts the Gäubodenvolksfest.
In 2020 and 2021, the Gäubodenvolksfest was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: facebook.com/gaeubodenvolksfest
