Anniversary weekend
The traditional Old Town Festival takes place on Saturday, complemented by exciting time islands and other activities. On Sunday, the focus is on historical and religious events – including a church service, procession and other special activities.
The weekend was deliberately chosen because September 13 is the anniversary of the death of Bishop Radolf, the founder of the city.
Further information on the program:
Anniversary weekend Saturday incl. Old Town Festival
On the Saturday of the anniversary weekend, the Radolfzell Old Town Festival invites you to experience the historic town center as a lively meeting place full of music, enjoyment and a variety of activities. Look forward to atmospheric live music, regional delicacies, exciting offers for the whole family and a colorful children’s program. Whether strolling through the market stalls, browsing the flea markets, romping around on the bouncy castle or partying with friends – the Old Town Festival offers the ideal opportunity to spend sociable hours in a unique atmosphere.
The festival is complemented by time travel stations in the city centre and in the Stadtgarten. There, performers bring past eras of Radolfzell to life and invite young and old to marvel, discover and join in.
Jubilee weekend Sunday: New Mass
The Sunday of the anniversary weekend is all about history and faith. The day begins solemnly with the premiere of a new mass at 9.15 am in the cathedral. It was created especially for this place, this special occasion and for the people who sing, make music and celebrate worship together here. Afterwards, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the time travel stations invite you to immerse yourself in the different eras of Radolfzell and experience history up close.
In addition, exciting historical activities await you, which will be presented in more detail over the course of the year – let us surprise you!
Jubilee weekend Sunday: Minster brass concert
At the end of the anniversary weekend, the Münsterbauverein and the Münsterbläsern will be organizing a top-class festive concert.
Two top-class soloists have been secured for this concert – the trombonist
Uwe Schrodi from Radolfzell-Markelfingen and the trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich. By engaging Reinhold Friedrich, one of the world’s
leading trumpet virtuosos of our time, this concert promises to be a very special kind of listening pleasure.
Author of the event photo: Kuhnle+Knödler
Special exhibition Stadtmuseum: Ratoldescella – Radolfzell
Radolfzell celebrates – and looks back on more than 1200 years of eventful history. To mark the town’s anniversary, the Radolfzell Town Museum will be showing the special exhibition “Ratoldescella – Radolfzell” from May 17, 2026.
The exhibition begins with the founding of the town of Radolfzell in 826 by Bishop Radolt of Verona. With the “Ratoldescella”, a first ecclesiastical settlement, he laid the foundation stone for today’s town. The presentation traces his life as a religious and political player in early medieval Europe – from Reichenau via Aachen and Rome to Verona. Historical views and reconstructions bring the old cityscape back to life. An interactive display of Heber’s map from 1708 shows many exciting details of the Radolfzell area during the Baroque period. At the same time, the exhibition also sheds light on the vanished Radolfzell, from the Hölle brewery to the “Café Achteck”, and commemorates people from Radolfzell who sought their fortune abroad. Their stories show how home lives on in memory.
The exhibition can be seen in the Radolfzell City Museum from May 17th. It invites all visitors to embark on a multifaceted journey through the past of the town on Lake Constance.
The city museum is open Thursdays – Sundays from 11.00 am – 5.00 pm.
Author of the event photo: Radolfzell town council
Radolfzell 3226
Radolfzell is inviting visitors to a special exhibition at Villa Bosch to mark the town’s anniversary. In collaboration with the University of Constance and the Constance University of Applied Sciences (HTWG), students of history, communication design and architecture are developing an innovative and interactive exhibition that looks back 1,200 years and forward 1,200 years at the same time.
The focus is on the idea of a time capsule. For centuries, people have been preserving messages for posterity, hidden in foundation stones, church spires or attics.
They contain things of such great importance that they are meant to stand the test of time and may only be opened in the distant future. The exhibition takes up this tradition and poses the question:
What should Radolfzell leave behind for the future?
Which memories, experiences and hopes are worth preserving for future generations?
Visitors can expect an exhibition that not only provides impressive insights into the history of Radolfzell, but also invites them to explore the challenges of the present and visions for the future.
People can and should therefore contribute their own thoughts and wishes and play an active role in helping to preserve traces of the present for the year 3226.
In the end, everyone decides for themselves: What should be included in a time capsule?
Opening hours Villa Bosch:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 14:00 – 17:30
Thursday: 14:00 – 17:30
Friday: 14:00 – 17:30
Saturday: 14:00 – 17:30
Sunday: 14:00 – 17:30
Originator event picture: Homebase
Anno 1926 “Radolfzell celebrates 1100 years”
In an exhibition, the Förderverein Museum und Stadtgeschichte Radolfzell e. V. presents 40 impressive impressions of the anniversary celebrations that took place in Radolfzell exactly 100 years ago. The historical glass plate photographs from the Moriell family’s picture archive provide a fascinating insight into the festivities and atmosphere of the town at that time. Thanks to targeted funding, the original glass plates have been restored and reproduced. The prints, which were then printed in large format, will be made available to the public in a free exhibition in the town library.
Author of the event picture: Förderverein Museum_Archiv Familie Moriell
Object karaoke – The thing from the depot
Object karaoke with exhibits from the Radolfzell City Museum.
Moderation: Johannes Elster
In the museum, we marvel at exhibits that bear witness to times long past, foreign cultures, artistic genius or simply good curation. We are normally denied a look behind the scenes, into the storerooms and into the depot of the Radolfzell City Museum. At Object Karaoke, improv artists present objects from the Radolfzell City Museum that they are seeing on stage for the first time. They are given a new object every 90 seconds for six minutes and have to present it to the audience as originally as possible. After each presentation, the museum explains the real history of the object to the audience.
It is up to the audience to decide by the volume of applause who makes it to the final and wins the first object karaoke in Radolfzell.
Admission: 6€ Reduced: 3€
Author of the event picture: Holger Bewersdorf
Dead or Alive Poetry Slam
We make the stage of the city library shake – with a literary competition in a class of its own, the Dead or Alive Poetry Slam. This special form of verbal duel is quite rightly called the supreme discipline of the poetry slam. Actors and actresses slip into the roles of deceased writers and try to compete with the best poetry slammers in the German-speaking world. Do the works of the great writers from the afterlife, such as Joseph Victor von Scheffel, still stand a chance against some of the strongest texts of contemporary stage poetry? Or will they be immediately sent back to the grave by the public’s vote? In the end, the audience will decide who will come out on top in this duel.
Author of the event photo: Michelle Jekel
Ringing Minster
To celebrate the end of the anniversary year, the “Klingende Münster” invites you to an evening full of music, community and glittering lights. In the poetically illuminated Minster of Our Lady, musicians from the State University of Music Trossingen and the Radolfzell Music School will trace the 1,200-year history of Radolfzell in a variety of tonal colors.
Together they create a varied musical mosaic that takes listeners on an atmospheric journey through time.
The program will be performed twice on 12 December – at 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm.
Between the two concerts, at 6.45 pm, a special communal experience will take place on the market square (no admission charge):
After the welcome by Lord Mayor Simon Gröger, all those present will transform into a large choir under the direction of Pia Löb (cantor of the Christuskirche) and sing Advent carols together. Accompanied by a brass ensemble made up of the brass choir of the Christuskirche and the Radolfzell youth brass orchestra under the direction of Norbert Steiner and Kuno Rauch, this creates a moment of solidarity and a musical symbol of the togetherness that makes Radolfzell so vibrant.
Originator event picture: Homebase
1st Radolfzell Film Festival
In 2026, Radolfzell celebrates its 1200th anniversary – and at the same time launches
with a new cultural highlight: the
FILMFESTIVAL RADOLFZELL! In September, the KFZ –
Kunst für Zukunft will become an urban cinema venue. The focus of the
first edition of the festival is on young people and their stories
– told in professional short films by young filmmakers:
inside. Talks, an award ceremony and a film party complete
the program. Organized by director Teresa
Renn and producer Patrick Merkle, in a cooperation between
the Kulturbüro Radolfzell and the KFZ – Kunst für Zukunft,
, the festival offers a forum for young perspectives –
and a cinematic experience for all generations.
Location: KFZ – Art for the Future, Friedrich-Werber-Str. 13 + 15, 78315 Radolfzell
Author of the event picture: Ana Baumgart
Open-air theater
On July 3 and 4, the market square will be transformed into a stage: the history of the city will unfold in six interlinking scenes of around ten minutes each – from its foundation to striking development steps and visionary ideas for the future. An open-air production that impressively combines past and present. The texts were written by Romy Bromma and Berthold Gruzel. The production is directed by Monique Moelter, whose creative staging concept ensures a dynamic and atmospheric performance. The play is performed without a curtain and the scenes flow into one another on the open stage. The participatory nature of the project is particularly striking: participants from the community – children, young people and adults – appear on stage together with experienced theater professionals. They were introduced to theater under professional guidance and create the scenes with great liveliness and authenticity. The project sees itself as a civic cultural experience that not only entertains, but also connects. An invitation to a shared culture of remembrance – and to look to the future.
Originator event picture: Homebase