Main Festival

Q: When will the Main Festival 2025 take place?

The Main Fesivalt will take place 01. – 04.08.2025.

Q: What are the opening hours of the Mainfest?

Friday & Saturday12:00 pm - 1:00 amSunday & Monday12:00 pm - 12:00 am

Q: Where will the Main Festival 2025 take place?

The Main Festival takes place at Mainkai, Fahrtor, and Römerberg.

Q: Will the jousting tournament take place again?

Yes, the jousting tournament event will take place on Sunday, 03rd August 2025, from 12:00 pm, in the middle of the Main River, between the Eiserne Steg and Untermain bridges.

Q: Will the 2025 Main Festival fireworks display take place?

The fireworks will start on Monday, 04th August 2025, at 10:00 pm, between the Eiserne Steg and Untermain bridges.

Q: What is the "Child Finder" (Kinder-Finder) and how is it used?

With the Kinder-Finder (Child Finder), you can relax and enjoy your visit to Frankfurt's folk festivals. This free service from the Frankfurt Showmen's Association is aimed particularly at families with small children and provides added security at the festival grounds.The Kinder-Finder is a wristband on which you enter your mobile phone number. If you lose sight of your child in the hustle and bustle, other visitors or the police can quickly reach you by phone. This makes it easy for you to find each other again.The wristband is available free of charge at all children's rides. Simply pick one up, write down your number and enjoy the hustle and bustle with peace of mind.

Q: What rides will there be at Mainfest 2025?

A colourful mix of classics and highlights for all ages awaits you at the Mainfest. Here is an overview of the planned attractions: Big rides: Riesenrad 45GeisterhausWellenflugHip-Hop-FlyDisco-Express 2Break DancerAuto-Scooter Children's rides: Little Pirates (Boat trip)VerkehrskindergartenMini-AirportAbenteuerfahrtHighwayBeach JumperCrazy Time 2 All the rides provide the best entertainment on the banks of the Main and on the Römerberg - for visitors of all ages!

Q: How do I reach the Main Festival by public transport?

You can reach the Mainfest by taking the underground lines U4 and U5 to the station Dom/Römer. Due to construction work, tram lines 11, 12, and 14 will not be running through the Altstadt route during the Mainfest and therefore cannot be used to travel to the event.

Q: Is it possible to travel to the Main Festival by car?

The address for the sat nav is:Römer - Frankfurt am Main The following multi-storey car parks are in the immediate vicinity: Dom/Römer multi-storey car park, Domstraße 1Hauptwache multi-storey car park, Kornmarkt 10Konstabler multi-storey car park, Töngesgasse 8 Car parks for the event are not available.

Q: Are there disabled parking spaces?

There are disabled parking spaces in the Dom-Römer underground parking garage.

31.07. – 03.08.2026

Fishermen's Jousting Programme FAQ

Tradition, good food and drink, and a spectacular fireworks display by the river

Festivities on the river Main

The Mainfest transforms Frankfurt’s banks of the Main into a festival zone brimming with enjoyment and tradition. A colourful mix of traditional fairground rides, regional specialities and a varied cultural programme reflects Frankfurt’s unique atmosphere and invites visitors to explore, enjoy and join in the celebrations.

One of the special highlights is the traditional Fischerstechen: dressed in historical costumes, brave participants compete against each other on boats – armed with padded poles, ready for an exciting contest of skill and balance.

Another highlight of the festival is the grand fireworks display on Monday evening. Against the impressive backdrop of the Main, colourful light effects illuminate the Frankfurt sky, providing a atmospheric finale to the Mainfest.

Year after year, the Mainfest thus becomes an unforgettable experience for visitors from Frankfurt and the surrounding region.

frankfurt.feiert.feste

Opening hours

Friday and Saturday: 12:00 pm – 12:00 am
Sunday and Monday: 12:00 pm – 12:00 am

Address

Mainkai and Fahrtor
60311 Frankfurt am Main

Programme

Information about the programme will be provided in good time before the festival begins.

Fishermen's Jousting

The exciting competition on the water!

Experience a spectacular traditional duel on the Main on 2 August from 12.00 pm! Daring participants in colourful historical costumes compete against each other on wobbly boats in the Frankfurt fisherman's joust - the aim: to push the opponent into the water with a pole! The boats are provided by the Frankfurt Fishermen’s and Skippers’ Guild and are steered by members of the guild.

The fishermen and women compete against each other in four different categories and fight for the

FirmenPokal
MedienPokal
VereinsPokal
MainfestPokal

The respective winners then compete in the grand final for the DreikönigsPokal.

Look forward to exciting duels between the Ferris wheel and candy floss. Who stays dry, who goes swimming? Come along and join in the excitement!

The fishing competition for the DreikönigsPokal at the Mainfest is organised by the Frankfurter Fischer- und Schifferzunft von 945 e.V., DLRG Bezirk Frankfurt e.V. , Schaustellerverband Frankfurt Rhein-Main e.V. and Tourismus- und Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main.

Send us an email if you want to take part

Bembel mit Text Fischerstechen am Main Mainfest

The origins of the Fishermen's Jousting

Since the Middle Ages, Frankfurt fishermen have organised a competition on the River Main. The winner was awarded the best stall at the market.

The competition - also known as ‘Schifferstechen’ - originally came from river navigation. Two opponents compete in an one-on-one-duel against each other in long boats called ‘Nachen’. The aim is to push the opponents off the boat into the water with a long pole. The boats are provided by the Frankfurt Fishermen’s and Skippers’ Guild and are steered by members of the guild. This custom is still practised today as part of the Main Festival.

Impressions

© #visitfrankfurt, Holger Ullmann
© Frankfurter Fischer- und Schifferzunft von 945 e.V.
© #visitfrankfrut, Holger Ullmann
© Frankfurter Fischer- und Schifferzunft von 945 e.V.
© #visitfrankfrut, Holger Ullmann
© Institut für Stadtgeschichte
© #visitfrankfurt, Holger Ullmann
© Institut für Stadtgeschichte

History and character of the Main Festival

Historical roots, living tradition

The origin of the Main Festival is considered to be the consecration of the Church of the Three Kings ("Dreikönigskirche") on 23rd July 1340, from which fishermen and skippers derived their fishing festival.

With the fishing festival they paid homage to "their river and its bounty". They celebrated with "ox on a spit", let wine flow from the Fountain of Justice and enjoyed passion plays performed by schoolchildren in "Himmelreich huts", goose-plucking, duck-catching by fishermen, fireworks and colourful parade rides in processions of four and six along the banks of the River Main.

On the occasion of the inauguration of the new "Old Bridge", people remembered the old Main festivals and once again organised an annual folk festival on the Main. Interrupted by the destruction of the Second World War, the then Lord Mayor Dr Walter Kolb continued the tradition. Construction work required the Main Festival to move briefly to the Ostpark, but when it returned from its exile to the Römerberg and the banks of the River Main in 1973, the Main Festival was able to celebrate a sensational comeback.

Ox on the spit:
A traditional speciality that has been enjoyed since the beginning of the festival.
Wine from the Fountain of Justice:
A unique attraction where wine instead of water flows from one of the city's historical fountains.
Market stalls and fairground rides:
A colourful hustle and bustle with market stalls offering local specialities and handicrafts, as well as fairground rides for young and old.
Fisherman's jousting:
Today's Main Festival has its roots deep in the Middle Ages and was originally established as a fishing festival. To this day, the festival celebrates the old custom of fishing in co-operation with the Schaustellerverband Frankfurt Rhein-Main e.V. and the Frankfurter Fischer- und Schifferzunft.