Top Events

This festive event with lots of fun and music is more than just a day to smash sauerkraut – it's a place to chat, sing and while away the time.

Besides cabbage, the local sauerkraut factory serves bacon, ham, vegetables and more. Those who are really hungry can enjoy a delicious Bernese platter.

Every spring, this fun run draws hundreds of runners to the small town of Kehrsatz. It's an athletic highlight each year. Refreshments for both runners and spectators are served in the festival tent located near the start and finish line.

The Farmers' Horse Race is held in Schwarzenburg once a year. The opponents bravely compete on their horses, ponies and mules, both with and without carriages.

Experience music, theater and art within the centuries-old walls of the Rüeggisberg priory ruins. The priory ruins have a stage set up for various open-air performances from late spring into the fall. The ruins provide a unique atmosphere and a magnificent view of the region!

Every September, some 200 drivers and 50 motorcyclists take on the demanding 3,753 meter race up the Gurnigel.

The mountain race (Bergrennen Gurnigel) draws around 15,000 spectators, who follow the action of this unparalleled event from the side of the road.

In the annual custom of the "Altjahrsesel" (Old-Year Donkey), traditional figures noisily parade through the streets of Schwarzenburg.

The donkey (played by a man) symbolizes the old year. He is beaten and then led away by a man with a whip. The parade of characters typically represent contrasting concepts, such as the past and future.

On the first Thursday in September, the town of Riffenmatt hosts quite a spectacle. Sheep are returned to their owners after a summer in the mountains. Early in the morning, before the market really begins to bustle, the sheep are led down the mountain into town, where they are returned to their owners.

Every year, the Tractor Pulling Team Zimmerwald organizes its own event on the Längenberg, where tractors face off in an exciting competition of pulling force.