Bergkirchweih 2025: The people of Erlangen love their "mountain"

People celebrated, swayed and laughed: the 270th Erlangen Bergkirchweih also proved to be a great family festival and a constant magnet for visitors. The high-turnover Whitsun days were hit by the odd rain shower, but from then on the weather gods threw numerous rays of sunshine onto the "Berg" grounds, ensuring that this major open-air event, which is popular far beyond the city limits, was very well attended. A few hours before the 270th Erlangen Bergkirchweih came to an end at around midnight on Monday evening with the traditional tapping of the barrel to the sounds of "Lili Marleen", those responsible drew a thoroughly positive conclusion.

Lord Mayor Florian Janik attended numerous events on the festival grounds and met many happy people: "Our 'Berch' has always been a place of encounters, enjoyment and Franconian joie de vivre and I am happy that we were able to experience all of this again this year. Hosts and showmen have given us twelve days full of conviviality, music and culinary delights. On behalf of the people of Erlangen and their guests, thank you very much."

Konrad Beugel, Head of Economic and Financial Affairs and responsible for the Kirchweih event, is also happy, pleased and grateful that Kerwa 2025 proved to be an attractive and safe family festival shortly before the end of the festival. "The Bergkirchweih is much more than just a folk festival - it is a living tradition that connects generations. Typical for a June fair, the weather had it all - from rain to pleasant temperatures to decent heat. That affected one day or another. Nevertheless, the feedback we received as organizers was overwhelmingly positive. The hard work of everyone involved was worthwhile. My thanks go to the entire team of organizers, the many partners from showmen and festival hosts as well as the supporters from blue light organizations for the reliable and appreciative cooperation in the run-up to and during the festival days. And now it's time to move on: After the mountain is before the mountain. See you again in 2026 - then for a May church consecration".

Other voices on the Bergkirchweih 2025

Udo Helbig, spokesman for the landlords:
"A good and successful Bergkirchweih is drawing to a close. After a mixed Whitsun weekend, the weather on the following days was ideal for the 'Berg'. From Tuesday to Saturday, the event was very well attended and peaceful. The second Sunday was much less busy than last year, we are looking forward to a final spurt on Monday. Sales are at about the same level as last year."

Karl-Heinz Hartnagel sums up for the South German Showmen's Association:
"From the showmen's point of view, we are very happy that Bergkirchweih 2025 was also a peaceful festival. We are satisfied, even though we were unfortunately unable to match last year's figures due to the rain. Our impression: we are well received by visitors and are attractive, but unfortunately also dependent on the weather."

Claudia Siegritz from the women's helpline takes stock of the Safe Space, the retreat for women and girls:
"We are very pleased that the Safe Space concept has been very well received as a low-threshold service. The staff were able to provide support and assistance. The mobile teams in particular are an important part of the service and were able to reach and support many people. Awareness of sexualized violence was raised through a large number of conversations. For many girls and women, the Safe Space means more safety at the Bergkirchweih. This was expressed above all through great gratitude in conversations and on social media."

Marc Clemenz, Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB):
"We are very satisfied with the way Bergkirchweih 2025 went. Despite the changeable and occasionally rainy weather, the number of operations remained at the usual stable level. In total, our emergency services provided around 160 emergency medical services, eleven of which required patients to be transported to hospital for further treatment. This shows that we were well prepared and were able to respond quickly and professionally at all times. We would particularly like to highlight the generally very relaxed and peaceful atmosphere among the visitors. Many people treated each other with respect and showed consideration - this was clearly noticeable and made our team's work much easier. The good cooperation with the police, BRK, fire department, organizers and everyone else involved also contributed to the fact that we can look back on a safe festival overall. I would like to thank all the helpers who worked with great commitment and dedication in all weathers and temperatures. We would also like to thank our guests for their respectful cooperation. We bid farewell to Berg 2025 and are already looking forward to 2026."

Michael Meyer, Bavarian Red Cross (BRK):
"From the point of view of the Bavarian Red Cross, the Bergkirchweih 2025 was calm overall and in line with the experience of previous years. The number of call-outs was average at 630, so we can look back on a normal festival overall. It is pleasing to note that there were only eight serious injuries. With a total of 133 medical treatments, the second Saturday recorded the highest number of emergency services in the past ten years. The commitment of up to 33 emergency personnel per shift should be emphasized, meaning that over 4,000 purely voluntary hours were spent on our two mountain rescue teams. To date, 47 patients have been transported to surrounding hospitals by the ambulance specially provided for this purpose at the Bergwache Mitte, while a further 44 were transported by vehicles from the public rescue service. A total of around 203 carrier team deployments were recorded on the site and in the cellars. These deployments, especially in the high temperatures on the second weekend of the festival, were a considerable physical strain for the helpers."

Klaus Wild, Head of the Erlangen City Police Department:
"The Erlangen police are very satisfied overall with the course of this year's 270th Erlangen Bergkirchweih shortly before the traditional digging in of the last barrel. From a police point of view, there was a very high number of visitors on most days, especially in the evening hours. Almost all visitors behaved absolutely peacefully and celebrated exuberantly. Our officers were frequently thanked for their service during their many tours of the festival grounds - a wonderful experience for our colleagues, which shows us that the vast majority of visitors to the Erlangen Bergkirchweih have a very positive perception of the police presence and the security measures taken, especially in light of the events of the recent past, and appreciate them very much. The further development of the barrier concept for the festival grounds and neuralgic points in the city center, which was driven forward together with the city of Erlangen and many other security stakeholders, has absolutely proven itself from a police perspective. We take the isolated criticism of local points of the barrier measures seriously and will incorporate it into the joint further development of the concept for the coming year. Compared to the previous year, which was the quietest and most peaceful Bergkirchweih since police records began, the number of incidents has risen moderately. In a ten-year comparison, the Bergkirchweih 2025 is in second place after 2024 from a police perspective."

Friedhelm Weidinger, Office for Fire and Disaster Protection (Fire Department):
"In total, the Erlangen fire department once again put in over 1,400 volunteer hours on the two mountain rescue teams over the twelve days. There are always seven emergency crews on duty from the permanent watch and the volunteer fire departments from the city area, as well as an operations management service from the permanent watch. Once again, our full-time and volunteer emergency services worked together wonderfully. In addition to minor technical assistance and a smoking garbage can, the BRK and ASB were supported in providing medical care to visitors to the 'Berg'."

Continuous improvements to escape routes have proven their worth

Together, the event management and all blue light organizations emphasize the close and smooth cooperation in many small and large operations. This cooperation was particularly effective when a visitor suffered a cardiovascular arrest. Thanks to the quick and coordinated action of first responders, police, fire department, BRK, ASB and the private security services, he was resuscitated. The emergency services worked hand in hand - from providing emergency medical care and creating a screen to transporting the patient in the ambulance that had been brought to the site.

The constant improvements to the rescue routes on the site also proved their worth in this situation, in this case the newly designed west exit of the site. The visitors to the Bergkirchweih also made a significant contribution to the fact that the rescue operation could be carried out in this form: They showed great consideration, immediately formed a rescue lane, cleared obstacles to the side and behaved cooperatively and respectfully throughout. All the organizations involved would like to thank the visitors and wish the patient a speedy and full recovery.

As we all know, anticipation is the greatest joy. A look ahead to 2026: The 271st Erlangen Bergkirchweih will take place from May 21 to June 1, 2026.