Nibelungen-Festspiele Worms

Luther premiere in front of the imperial cathedral

Nibelungen festival 2021.07.16- 2021.08.01

In 2021 the history of the Nibelungen is not the centre of the festival but the reformer Martin Luther. In 2021 is the 500th anniversary of the 'Reichstag zu Worms'. Therefore the Nibelungen festival will become the central content anchor point of all the festivities and once again a huge theatrical event. The festival will be accompanied by an extensive framework programme.

Georg- Büchner award winner Bärfuss writes the play for the Nibelungen festivalThe Nibelungen festival will bring an extraordinary play to the Luther anniversary. The song of the Nibelungen won't be the topic but the historical figure of Luther is in the middle of attention.

The Nibelungen Festival was opened in 2002 with the vision of bringing one of the most important works of medieval epic poetry back to the attention of a wider audience and thus making the original setting of the Nibelungen saga better known: the city of Worms - once an important centre for intellectual, cultural and political activity in Europe.
Right from the start the festival has been a great success and within a few years it has become one of the most famous open-air festivals. On the steps in front of Worms' imposing imperial cathedral, where Kriemhild and Brünhild are said to have once fought out their legendary queen's quarrel, the most famous actors from theatre, film and television appear every year and show the diversity that the Nibelungen fabric has to offer. The entire German-speaking media come to Worms in the summer and report on the impressive productions. The festival reaches a large audience every year, either live on location or during the television broadcasts of ZDF or SWR on the home screen, and brings the city on the Rhine a great deal of attention.
Since 2015, the successful film producer Nico Hofmann has been the artistic director of the Nibelungen Festival. He makes Worms the site of high-quality premieres that illuminate and deepen the Nibelungen theme from a new angle.