Annafest


The Annafest is a Franconian folk festival held yearly about 26 July in the Kellerwald in the town of Forchheim. It started in 1840.
The area is known for Bierkellers, or beer cellars, that showcase their food and drinks during the festival. The festival also offers carnival rides and live musical performances.
The festival's food stands sell German sausages, barbecued food, platters and fried fish as well as non-consumables. The Annafest contains seating for about 30,000, and the Kellerwald provides enough space for the 45,000 – 50,000 visitors who come each day, and up to 600,000 during the 10 days festival period.

Annafest's history

The local breweries Hebendanz, Greif, Eichhorn and Neder all brew a strong Bock beer specially for this festival, the so-called Annafestbier. This is stored for several weeks before the festival begins.

Dates

  • 2006: July 22 – July 31
  • 2007: July 21 – July 30
  • 2008: July 26 – August 4
  • 2009: July 25 – August 3
  • 2010: July 24 – August 2
  • 2011: July 23 – August 1
  • 2012: July 21 – July 30
  • 2013: July 20 – July 29
  • 2014: July 25 – August 4
  • 2015: July 24 – August 3
  • 2016: July 22 – August 1
  • 2017: July 21 – July 31
  • 2018: July 20 – July 30
  • 2019: July 26 – August 5
  • 2020: July 24 – August 3
  • 2021: July 23 – August 2
  • 2022: July 22 – August 1
  • 2023: July 21 – July 31
  • 2024: July 26 – August 5
  • 2025: July 25 – August 4

The beer and the cellars

At the Forchheimer Annafest, beer is served in 23 cellars, which are divided into "upper" and "lower" cellars due to their location on the slope of the Kellerberg.
The 13 lower cellars and their beers are:
Schindlerkeller, Greif-Keller, Schäffbräu Keller*, Hebendanz-Keller, Mahrs-Bräu-Keller*, Fritz-Schneider-Keller*, Winterbauer-Keller, Brauerei Hofmann, Schaufel-Keller, Kaiser-Keller*, Brauwastl-Keller*, Nürnberger-Tor-Keller*, Fäßla-Keller*.
The 10 upper cellars are:
Schlößla-Keller, Glocken-Keller, Stäffala-Keller, Eichhorn-Keller, Weiß-Tauben-Keller*, Hoffmanns Keller, Schwanen-Keller* , Neder-Keller, Schützenkeller , Blümleins-Keller*.
The beer cellars marked with * are only open during the Annafest. The others are open in the summer season. A few are also open in winter.
The local breweries Brauerei Hebendanz, Brauerei Greif, Eichhorn and Brauerei Neder brew a strong beer especially for this festival, the Annafestbier, which is stored in the beer cellars in the Kellerwald for several weeks before the start of the festival. For the first time in 2011, the Rittmayer brewery in nearby Hallerndorf brewed a special Annafestbier, which was served in the Weiß-Tauben-Keller.