Next dates
2027 dates not yet announced — typically around August. We're watching and will update this page when they land.
Future dates
- 2027Aug 19–23, 2027
Quick answer
Sandkerwa is Bamberg's largest street fair, held every year in the Sand district of the UNESCO World Heritage Old Town across Sandstraße, Markusplatz, and Am Kranen. The 2026 edition ran August 20–24. Daytime wandering is free; a Festabzeichen (festival badge) has been mandatory since 2022 for visitors 14+ from 18:00 daily (13:30 Sunday), priced at €6 for all five days or €3 per day in 2026. The Fischerstechen fishermen's-jousting tournament on the Regnitz, organized since 1952, is a current annual highlight — 2026 was its 72nd staging. Schlenkerla's Rauchbier (smoked beer) is the festival's signature drink, alongside pours from Bamberg's other eight breweries and one brewpub.
- Best for
- Beer and culture travelers who want a decentralized, street-level Franconian festival inside a working UNESCO Old Town rather than a beer-tent format — Rauchbier pilgrims, photographers drawn to the Fischerstechen river jousting, and anyone building a Bamberg trip around late August. Less suited to visitors expecting free evening access throughout, since the Festabzeichen is required after 18:00, or to anyone wanting a single centralized fairground rather than several spread-out festival quarters.
- Booking urgency
- No advance ticket is required for daytime access or general Fischerstechen viewing from the bridges and riverside. Visitors planning an evening or night visit should budget for the Festabzeichen (€6 for five days, €3 for a single day in 2026) and buy it in advance from local vendors or the tourist office to skip evening box-office queues. Accommodation in Bamberg is in high demand during Sandkerwa and should be booked well ahead of the festival week.
Bamberg's iconic street fair — smoky Rauchbier, medieval alleys, and a fishermen's jousting tournament.
Five days of Franconian beer culture in UNESCO World Heritage Bamberg. Don't leave without trying Schlenkerla's Rauchbier (smoked beer) — it tastes like liquid bacon.
The full story
Sandkerwa is Bamberg's biggest street fair, unfolding every August across the Sand district of the city's UNESCO World Heritage Old Town — not on a single fairground, but across Sandstraße, Markusplatz, and Am Kranen, a network of medieval lanes and squares beside the Regnitz river. The occasion it marks is genuinely old: the consecration of the St. Elisabeth chapel, originally the chapel of the Heilig-Geist-Spital in the Sand quarter, on August 24, 1354. The festival as it exists today, however, is a 20th-century revival — relaunched in 1951 by the neighborhood civic association Bürgerverein IV. Distrikt, founded in 1891, with 2026 marking its 76th staging under that modern run.
Entry works differently depending on the hour. Daytime browsing of the stalls and streets is unticketed, but a Festabzeichen — a paid festival badge — has been mandatory since 2022 for every visitor aged 14 and up from 18:00 onward daily (13:30 on the closing Sunday), with Markusplatz exempt from the requirement. 2026 pricing was €6 for a badge covering all five days or €3 for a single day, sold in advance through local bakeries, supermarkets, and the tourist office, or at evening box offices at the entrances — a detail worth knowing before planning an evening visit around free admission.
The festival's signature spectacle is the Fischerstechen, a fishermen's jousting tournament on the Regnitz in front of the Klein-Venedig riverside quarter. It's a genuinely old Bamberg tradition — jousting on the river is documented in the city as far back as 1498 — and a fixed, unbroken part of Sandkerwa's own program since 1952; the 2026 edition, held Sunday, August 23, was its 72nd staging, drawing dense crowds to the bridges and riverbanks for free viewing. Beer-wise, Schlenkerla's Rauchbier remains the festival's most quoted draw, poured alongside Bamberg's other eight breweries and one brewpub. The 2026 run drew roughly 200,000 visitors over its five days, and the Bavarian Red Cross reported it as peaceful and cheerful, with no major incidents — a fitting close to a festival built on 670-plus years of local history and more than 500 years of river jousting. See Sandkerwa or explore Upper Franconia.
History
The fair marks the consecration of the St. Elisabeth chapel — originally the chapel of the Heilig-Geist-Spital in the Sand district — on August 24, 1354, not 1340. The first documented record of a Kirchweih im Sand celebration dates to 1531; the modern festival was revived in 1951 by the Bürgerverein IV. Distrikt, a neighborhood civic association founded in 1891, and 2026 marked the 76th staging under that revival. The Fischerstechen fishermen's-jousting tournament on the Regnitz — added to the festival program in 1952, with the underlying practice in Bamberg documented as far back as 1498 — remains a current, unbroken annual highlight: 2026's edition was its 72nd staging, not a historical relic.
On Tap
- Local focus
- Franconian lager and Rauchbier in UNESCO Old Town — Schlenkerla's smoked beer is the must-try callout.
- What to try
- A Rauchbier at Schlenkerla's Sandkerwa stand if they're pouring; otherwise classic Bamberg lager from the fest stalls.
- Food pairing
- Schäufele or grilled fish with an unsmoked lager — save the Rauchbier for after you've eaten.
- Best for
- Beer pilgrims already visiting Bamberg's nine breweries and one brewpub who want the city in festival mode.
- Bavaria On Tap take
- Sandkerwa packs Bamberg's beer identity into five days — smoked beer tastes like liquid bacon, and that's the point.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Sandkerwa free to attend?
- Only during the day. Wandering the streets is unticketed before evening, but a paid Festabzeichen is required daily from 18:00 (13:30 on the closing Sunday) for anyone 14 or older. Markusplatz is exempt from the badge requirement.
- What is the Festabzeichen and how much does it cost?
- It's a festival badge that has been mandatory since 2022 for visitors 14+ entering the festival grounds from 18:00 daily. 2026 pricing was €6 for a badge covering all five days or €3 for a single day, available in advance from local vendors, the tourist office, or at evening box offices.
- Is the Fischerstechen jousting tournament still held?
- Yes, every year. It's organized continuously by the Untere Schiffer- und Fischerzunft Bamberg since 1952, and the practice of fishermen's jousting on the Regnitz is documented in the city as far back as 1498. The 2026 edition, held Sunday, August 23, was its 72nd staging.
- How old is Sandkerwa, really?
- The occasion it marks — the consecration of the St. Elisabeth chapel in the Sand district — dates to August 24, 1354. The festival as celebrated today was revived in 1951 by the neighborhood Bürgerverein IV. Distrikt; 2026 was its 76th staging under that revival.
- Where does Sandkerwa take place?
- Across the Sand district of Bamberg's UNESCO World Heritage Old Town, spanning Sandstraße, Markusplatz, and Am Kranen — not a single fenced venue but a network of streets and squares near the Regnitz river.
- What should I drink at Sandkerwa?
- Schlenkerla's Rauchbier (smoked beer) is the most-cited must-try, served from oak barrels near the festival stalls. Bamberg's other eight breweries and one brewpub also pour at Sandkerwa stands.
- How was the 2026 edition?
- It drew roughly 200,000 visitors over the five days. The Bavarian Red Cross reported the festival as peaceful and cheerful, with no major incidents.