Next dates
2027 dates not yet announced — typically around June. We're watching and will update this page when they land.
Quick answer
The Pfaffenhofen Kirchweih, a district of Roth, runs 12–15 June 2026 on the local Festplatz. It is separate from the main Rother Kirchweih in August and includes a Festgottesdienst on 14 June at 10:30 in the Ottilienkirche followed by a parade to the tent.
- Best for
- Authentic Franconian Kirchweih culture, district-scale fairs, Roth county visitors.
- Booking urgency
- Low; the Sunday church service and procession are the cultural peak of the weekend.
Four-day Franconian Kirchweih on Pfaffenhofen's Festplatz near Roth, 12–15 June 2026, with Festgottesdienst and parade on Sunday.
A small, community-run Kirchweih in the Pfaffenhofen district of the city of Roth (Middle Franconia), running 12–15 June 2026 on the district's own fairground with a Friday-night concert, a Saturday tree-raising and keg-tapping, and a Sunday festival church service and family procession. It's easy to confuse with three differently-named lookalikes: the much larger citywide Rother Kirchweih held in the same city every August, the unrelated and considerably larger Pfaffenhofener Volksfest in Bavaria's Hallertau hop-growing region, and — in a mirror-image mix-up — a place named simply 'Roth' that belongs to an entirely different market town pairing Pfaffenhofen with the river Roth, in Bavarian Swabia. This small district fair is none of those three.
The full story
The Pfaffenhofen Kirchweih is a small, community-run parish fair in the Pfaffenhofen district of the city of Roth, Middle Franconia, running four days each June — 12 through 15 June for the 2026 edition. The City of Roth organizes it jointly with the district's own festival youth committee, the Kärwaboum und -madli Pfaffenhofen, on the district's own fairground rather than the city's main Festplatz. A Friday-evening concert opens the tent; Saturday afternoon brings a village procession, the communal raising of a tall Kirchweih tree by hand, and an early-evening keg tapping followed by a dance band; Sunday centers on a 10:30 festival church service in the district's parish church, St. Ottilia, followed by a brass-choir tree serenade, a procession back to the tent, a shared lunch, and the raising of a children's Kirchweih tree. Admission to the fairground and tent is free.
Worth knowing before planning a visit: this small district fair is easy to confuse with three differently-named events elsewhere in Bavaria. It is not the much larger citywide Rother Kirchweih, also held in Roth but on the main Festplatz each August, on a separate calendar with separate organizers. It is also not the unrelated and considerably larger Pfaffenhofener Volksfest, held in a different Bavarian town altogether — Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, in the Hallertau hop-growing region. And in a mirror-image mix-up, "Roth" is also a district name belonging to a different market town, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, in Bavarian Swabia — an unrelated place on the other side of the state. This June fair, in the Pfaffenhofen district of Roth in Middle Franconia, is none of those three.
The fair's own founding year is unstated. The Pfaffenhofen village around it is far older, first mentioned in 1162, with its parish church consecrated in 1185 and rebuilt in 1734 after wartime destruction — but those dates belong to the village and its church, not to the Kirchweih fair itself. The tent's beer program comes from a small regional brewery in nearby Barthelmesaurach with roots to 1602. The pace is unhurried and neighborhood-scale, best treated as an evening add-on to a day trip in the Fränkisches Seenland area rather than a destination on its own. See the Kirchweih Roth/Pfaffenhofen page or explore Middle Franconia.
History
The Pfaffenhofen Kirchweih fair's own founding year is unstated. The surrounding village of Pfaffenhofen is far older — first mentioned in 1162, with its parish church of St. Ottilia consecrated in 1185 and rebuilt in 1734 after Thirty Years' War destruction — but those village and church dates describe the settlement's history, not the festival's own origin. Pfaffenhofen was incorporated into the City of Roth in 1971 and remains a separate district within it. This June district fair should not be confused with three similarly named events: the citywide Rother Kirchweih held in Roth every August, the much larger Pfaffenhofener Volksfest in Bavaria's Hallertau hop-growing region (an entirely different Pfaffenhofen), and a place called simply 'Roth' that is itself a district of a different market town — Pfaffenhofen an der Roth — in Bavarian Swabia.
Eat & Drink Nearby
- Local specialty
- The tent's beer comes from a small regional brewery in nearby Barthelmesaurach with roots to 1602; standard fest-tent food follows the Sunday procession from the Ottilienkirche.
- Pair it with
- The main Rother Kirchweih in August if you want the larger version of this tradition later in the year.
- Itinerary fit
- A four-day village fair built around the Sunday Festgottesdienst and parade — best for a single afternoon or evening visit.
Frequently asked questions
- When is Kirchweih Pfaffenhofen 2026?
- 12–15 June 2026, a four-day run from Friday through Monday.
- Is this the main Roth Kirchweih?
- No. The citywide Rother Kirchweih is a separate, much larger event held 7–11 August 2026 on Roth's main Festplatz, with its own organizers and a first written mention dating to 1531 — none of which applies to this smaller June district fair.
- Where is the fairground?
- On the Pfaffenhofen district's own fairground, distinct from the main Roth Festplatz used for the citywide August fair.
- When is the church service?
- Sunday, 14 June 2026, at 10:30 in Pfaffenhofen's parish church, St. Ottilia.
- Is this the same as the Pfaffenhofener Volksfest?
- No. The Pfaffenhofener Volksfest is a much larger, unrelated festival held in a different Bavarian town altogether — Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, in the Hallertau hop-growing region. It has no connection to this small district Kirchweih in the Pfaffenhofen district of Roth.
- Does 'Roth' here mean the river Roth in Swabia?
- No. A separate market town, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth in Bavarian Swabia, also pairs the names 'Pfaffenhofen' and 'Roth' — but as a town name and a river, not a city and its district. That town is unrelated to this Middle Franconia district fair, on the opposite side of Bavaria.
- Free entry