Events
Heidelberger Frühling: Heidelberg's Classical Music Festival
Heidelberger Frühling (Heidelberg Spring) is one of Germany's most respected classical music festivals. Since 1997 it has filled March and April with around 100 concerts in the Stadthalle, the great hall of the old university and other historic venues around the city.
What it is
Heidelberger Frühling (Heidelberg Spring) is an international classical music festival that has run every spring since 1997. It has grown into one of the most highly regarded classical festivals in Germany, and for a few weeks each year it turns Heidelberg into a stop on the international concert circuit.
When it happens
March and April. The program spans roughly 100 concerts across those two months, which means that during the festival season there is something on most evenings rather than just on a single weekend.
Where the concerts are
The main venue is the Stadthalle, Heidelberg’s concert hall on the Neckar. Concerts also take place in the Aula der Alten Universität, the ceremonial great hall of the old university building on Universitätsplatz, and in other historic venues around the city. Playing chamber music in rooms like these is a large part of the festival’s appeal: the settings are as old as much of the repertoire.
Planning around it
Because the festival runs across March and April, it overlaps with the start of the visiting season in Heidelberg, when the almond trees on the Philosophers’ Walk are in bloom and the Old Town is not yet crowded. If you are already planning a spring trip, it is worth checking the schedule before you fix your dates.
Program details, individual concert dates and tickets are published by the festival itself at heidelberger-fruehling.de.