Next dates
2027 dates not yet announced — typically around July. We're watching and will update this page when they land.
Future dates
- 2027Jul 23 – Aug 2, 2027
Quick answer
Annafest is a beer festival in Forchheim, Bavaria, held in the Kellerwald (Kellerberg), a wooded hill above the town. It runs Jul 24 – Aug 3, 2026 — 11 days across 23 brewery-tied beer cellars set into the forested hillside. Entry to the grounds is free; visitors pay only for beer and food. The festival traces to 1840, when Forchheim's shooting society relocated its annual shooting festival to the Kellerwald and merged it with the town's older St. Anna pilgrimage tradition.
- Best for
- Beer travelers who want Franconia's answer to Oktoberfest without a tent-hall format — hopping between 23 forest-set, brewery-specific cellars over an eleven-day run. A strong fit for visitors interested in a genuine 19th-century civic history (a shooting festival and a church pilgrimage merging into one event) rather than a manufactured legend, and for anyone who prefers a shaded, wooded festival setting over an open fairground. Free grounds entry also suits visitors who want to pay only for what they actually drink and eat.
- Booking urgency
- No ticket is needed — the Kellerwald grounds and all 23 cellars are free to enter throughout the eleven-day run. Weekend evenings draw the heaviest crowds; a weekday visit or an early arrival is the practical move for a more relaxed cellar-hopping pace. Footwear matters here more than at a flat fairground, since the grounds are a genuine wooded hillside rather than paved ground.
One of Franconia's biggest and most beloved beer festivals, held in the Kellerwald, a wooded hill above Forchheim.
The Annafest is the crown jewel of Forchheim's festival calendar — 11 days of Franconian beer in the Kellerwald, a wooded hilltop festground overlooking the town. Multiple breweries set up massive tents, traditional brass bands play daily, and the local Keller breweries serve up their best lagers under the open sky. Free entry, family-friendly with dedicated kids' areas, and one of the few fests where the beer is actually cheaper than in Bamberg.
The full story
Every summer, Forchheim's Kellerwald — a wooded hill just outside the town center — fills with the Annafest, one of Franconia's biggest beer festivals. The tradition it grew from is older than the festival itself: for generations, Forchheim residents walked to a St. Anna chapel each year around St. Anna's Day and rested on the way back in the shaded Kellerwald, where beer was already stored in sandstone cellars for lack of refrigeration elsewhere. The oldest of those cellars, the Glockenkeller, has operated since 1697 — the storage infrastructure predates the festival by well over a century.
The festival as a distinct event dates to 1840. That year, Forchheim's Schützengesellschaft (shooting society) moved its annual shooting festival from the Regnitz meadows to a disused quarry in the Kellerwald, deliberately timing it to coincide with St. Anna's Day and the pilgrims' return. The relocated shooting competition and the pilgrimage's beer-cellar rest stop merged into a single event, and that merger is what sources point to as the moment Annafest began. The festival grew steadily from there: it expanded to a Saturday-through-Tuesday format by 1873, five days by 1888, eight days by 1909, added a Monday in 1953, and has run its current eleven-day format since 2014.
Today the festival spans 23 beer cellars built into the Kellerwald hillside, each tied to its own Franconian brewery, so cellar-hopping means trying distinct beers rather than one brand poured under different tents. Brass bands play daily, kids' areas keep the festival family-friendly, and entry to the grounds is free — visitors pay only for beer and food. The wooded, hilltop setting keeps the festival shaded and cooler than an open fairground, and it remains one of the few Franconian beer festivals where the beer itself is often cheaper than in nearby Bamberg. See Annafest Forchheim or explore Upper Franconia.
History
The Annafest dates to 1840, when Forchheim's Schützengesellschaft (shooting society) moved its annual shooting festival from the Regnitz meadows to a disused quarry in the Kellerwald, timing it to coincide with St. Anna's Day and the return leg of the town's older St. Anna pilgrimage. The wooded hillside was already riddled with sandstone cellars used for cool beer storage — the oldest, the Glockenkeller, has operated since 1697 — so the relocated shooting festival and the pilgrimage's beer-cellar rest stop merged into a single event. It grew from a few days into a Saturday–Tuesday format by 1873, five days by 1888, eight days by 1909, a Monday addition in 1953, and today's eleven-day run since 2014.
On Tap
- Local focus
- Franconian Kellerbier in the Kellerwald, on the Kellerberg hilltop — multiple brewery tents under open sky.
- What to try
- Kellerbier from whichever Forchheim-area brewery has your favorite tent; the Kellerwald setting is half the experience.
- Food pairing
- Grilled chicken and fest plates between brass-band sets.
- Best for
- Eleven-day festgoers who want hilltop views and Franconian beer culture at full volume.
- Bavaria On Tap take
- Annafest is Forchheim's crown jewel — free entry, dedicated family days, and serious beer in the open air.
Frequently asked questions
- When is Annafest in 2026?
- Annafest in 2026 runs from Jul 24 – Aug 3, 2026. It takes place at Kellerwald.
- Is Annafest free to attend?
- Entry to Annafest is free.
- What is the history of Annafest?
- The Annafest began in 1840, when Forchheim's Schützengesellschaft (shooting society) moved its annual shooting festival to the Kellerwald, merging it with the town's older St. Anna pilgrimage tradition already centered there. The wooded hillside's sandstone beer cellars, used for cool storage since well before the festival began, made the site a natural gathering place once the two traditions combined.
- How exactly did the 1840 merger create Annafest?
- Forchheim's Schützengesellschaft had long held its main shooting competition on the Regnitz meadows. In 1840, it moved that competition to a disused quarry in the Kellerwald and timed it to coincide with St. Anna's Day, when townspeople traditionally walked to a St. Anna chapel and rested on the way back at the Kellerwald's beer cellars. The relocated shooting festival and the pilgrimage's beer-cellar rest stop merged into a single event — the moment sources point to as Annafest's founding.
- How many beer cellars are at Annafest, and what makes them special?
- Annafest spans 23 beer cellars built into the Kellerwald hillside, each tied to a specific Franconian brewery, so moving between cellars means trying genuinely different beers rather than the same brand under different tents.
- Where is Annafest located?
- Annafest takes place at Kellerwald in Forchheim, Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany.
- Family-friendly
- Free entry
- Scenic setting