Stuttgart: Events

Stuttgarters are avid music fans, and the year kicks off with the acclaimed Eclat New Music Festival (January/February) devoted to avant-garde composers. Fasnet , the Swabian version of Carnival, revels in its pagan origins, as celebrants dress as witches and ghosts in ancient wooden masks and participate in parades, dances and macabre rituals. The bizarre festivities intensify over six weeks, culminating on the Tuesday before Lent. The Jazzopen Festival in July features popular acts such as Joe Jackson, Randy Newman and the Herbie Hancock Quintet. The Bach Summer Academy , presented by the renowned International Bach Academy under the direction of Helmuth Rilling, draws large crowds of classical music lovers in early September.

Wine lovers descend upon the city during Weindorf , a 10-day celebration in which hundreds of local vintners showcase their vintages (late August or early September). The Cannstatter Volksfest (People's Fair) is the event of the year, held over three consecutive weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) from late September to mid-October and second only in size to Munich's Oktoberfest. In addition to copious quantities of beer, the Volksfest features fireworks, carnival rides, oompah music and Swabian specialties like Spätzle and Bretzel . The Christmas Market , which begins the last Thursday in November and runs until December 23, is a winter wonderland of local crafts, choirs, a children's village, and hearty food and drink.

Stuttgart's public holidays include New Year's Day (1 January), Epiphany (6 January), Easter , Labour Day (1 May), Whit/Pentecost (May or June), Corpus Christi (June), Assumption Day (15 August), Day of German Unity (3 October), All Saints' Day (1 November), Christmas and Boxing Day (25 & 26 December). All shops and banks close on public holidays.