European Medieval Festival in Horsens

European Medieval Festival in Horsens
Bring the family along for a fun and different experience. Step out of the modern ages and straight back to the live Middle Ages, when Horsens invites to European Medieval Festival.

The last weekend of August it is buzzing, when craftsmen, musicians, showmen, and merchants flocks to the market with hundreds of tempting stalls, music, theater, and jousting.

The history of the festival
The European Medieval Festival was from the beginning in 1995 a great success with thousands of visitors. Many came from the local unions, kindergartens, schools, and recreation homes.

The festival quickly became a yearly event in the city center. It started slowly with a festival on the main street of the city, but over the next years it also grew to the church, the city square, and the square of the town hall.

European Medieval Festival was through the first 18 years known for turning Horsens city center into a great Medieval market with lots of traders, craftsmen, musicians, knights, showmen, and other characteristic figures from the Middle Ages.

It had become a well-established cultural event, evolving into one of Europe’s largest of its kind - and received great recognition nationally as well as internationally.

In 2013, the Festival was held by Fængslet (the Prison) - the previous state prison in Horsens. The city council of Horsens agreed to move the festival there to give room for further development of the festival.

This also gave the unique option to create an illusion of a castle that could become center for the market.

Besides this, the festival also finally had larger grass areas for tents and stalls - something the stall keepers had demanded for a while.

The festival has developed into an international Medieval festival with stall keepers and artist from all of Europe and about 60.000 guest from Denmark and rest of the world.

A party for the city
The Medieval festival also needs to be a celebration for the inhabitants of the city and the guests from outside. That is why the festival presents music groups, showmen- and theater groups, jousting, fighting shows, and a Medieval market with around 120 stall keepers, craftsmen, and field camps.

People from a range of countries has visited the festival through the time. Groups from Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Belarus, Hungary, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, Finland, Ukraine, and England.

The point of the festival is to create a historical and cultural event that can present a high level of music, theater, handcrafts, historical storytelling, jousting, trading, and food. The festival is gathering Horsens across local institutions, business community, volunteer unions, and citizens.

Horsens
Horsens and region are full of exciting activities and events for both children and adults - there is plenty of options for nice experiences, when you are in the area.

In the city, you can find historical museums, get inspired and impressed by the city’s art at museums, galleries, and throughout the city. You can explore and be active in the nature or lean back and enjoy live entertainment like concerts, festivals, and other events.

If you love shopping, Horsens is a nice place to be. In the heart of the city, the widest pedestrian street in Denmark welcomes you to shopping experiences. In just the city center, you can find more than 150 shops to fulfill your shopping needs.

You can also be sure, you can get a great time out, when visiting Horsens. A trip through the night life of Horsens can be the icing on the cake after a nice day of shopping and exciting experiences.

Maybe enjoy a couple of drinks with your loved one on a romantic date, explore the tunes of today with a nice concert, or go clubbing with your friends - the choice is yours, and Horsens has the framework for a nice time.