Bachfest Leipzig

Bachfest Leipzig is the annual festival of Johann Sebastian Bach's music in the city where he worked as Thomaskantor, cantor of St Thomas Church, from 1723. It is organised by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, which is based in the historic Bose House on Thomaskirchhof. Festivals honouring Bach have been held in Leipzig from time to time since 1904, and the city council made it an annual event from 1999. The organisers say the festival's draw is the mix of a strong programme and the authentic venues: many concerts take place in the churches and halls where Bach's music was first heard.

A typical Bachfest mixes sacred and secular concerts, chamber music, jazz interpretations, organ recitals, guided tours, talks and open-air events. Concerts run from late morning to late evening at venues across the city, from the Thomaskirche, Nikolaikirche and Gewandhaus to the Paulinum, the Oper, museums, the main station and churches in the surrounding region.

This edition

Bachfest 2027 runs from Thursday 10 to Sunday 20 June 2027 under the motto “Passion”. The festival's programme book links the theme to the 300th anniversary of the first Leipzig performance of the St Matthew Passion. The St Matthew Passion is performed several times, in the Gewandhaus, the Thomaskirche and as a free open-air performance on the Markt, alongside the St John, St Mark and St Luke Passions. The festival opens on 10 June 2027 in the Thomaskirche with the Thomanerchor and the Gewandhausorchester under Thomaskantor Andreas Reize, and closes there on 20 June 2027 with the traditional performance of the Mass in B minor.

• Opening concert: Thursday 10 June 2027, 17:00, Thomaskirche, with the Thomanerchor Leipzig and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig directed by Thomaskantor Andreas Reize.
• St Matthew Passion: the work at the centre of the 2027 motto is programmed in several performances, including the Gewandhaus (11 June 2027) and the Thomaskirche (13, 16 and 19 June 2027).
• BachStage on the Markt: open-air concerts on Leipzig's market square with free entry, including a St Matthew Passion sung by visiting Bach choirs with the MDR-Sinfonieorchester on Saturday 12 June 2027, 20:00.
• St John Passion at the Oper: Sasha Waltz's staged choreography of the St John Passion, at Oper Leipzig on 17 and 18 June 2027.
• Sing-along in the station: a free BachGames sing-along concert in the East Hall of Leipzig Hauptbahnhof on Saturday 19 June 2027, 18:00.
• Closing concert: Sunday 20 June 2027, 18:00, Thomaskirche: Bach's Mass in B minor, the festival's traditional finale.

• Zentrum (city centre): the Thomaskirche, Nikolaikirche, Gewandhaus, Bach-Museum, Markt and the Bachfest information counter on Petersstraße are all in the compact centre, so you can walk between concerts.
• Around the Hauptbahnhof: handy if you arrive by ICE from Berlin or by S-Bahn from Leipzig/Halle Airport, and the station itself hosts a Bachfest event.
• Südvorstadt: Leipzig Tourism describes Karl-Liebknecht-Straße (“KarLi”) as a student and alternative quarter full of bars, cafés and restaurants, served by trams 10 and 11.
• Festival packages: Leipzig Tourism (LTM) puts together Bachfest packages with accommodation, concert tickets and guided tours. Its 2026 packages sold out, and the Bach-Archiv invites you to register interest for the 2027 offer.

By air: Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ) has its own station below the check-in hall. S-Bahn lines S5 and S5X run every half hour to Leipzig Hauptbahnhof in about 14 minutes, and night bus NXL covers the small hours. The Bach-Archiv says the airport is connected to many German and a few international destinations; we could not confirm a direct flight from the UK, so check the airport's flight plan. Alternatively, fly to Berlin Brandenburg (BER): the FEX Airport Express and RE20 reach Berlin Hauptbahnhof in about 23 minutes, and the Bach-Archiv gives about 1 hour 10 minutes from Berlin to Leipzig by ICE.

By rail: Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is on Deutsche Bahn's long-distance network. The Bach-Archiv lists approximate ICE times of 1 hour 15 minutes from Dresden, 3 hours 30 minutes from Frankfurt, 4 hours 25 minutes from Munich and 5 hours 30 minutes from Cologne. Long-distance buses stop at the bus terminal on the east side of the station.

Getting around: the main venues are in the city centre. The Thomaskirche stop is served by tram 9 and bus 89. The organisers say Bachfest tickets (except concerts by other organisers and guided tours) are valid on buses, trams and S-Bahn in Leipzig fare zone 110 from four hours before to four hours after the event, as marked on the ticket; the LVB LeipzigMOVE app plans routes.

We don't have a Leipzig guide yet; see our Germany guide and our Berlin guide if you fly in via BER.

Flight delayed or cancelled on the way? See our Travel Disruption guide for your rights.

Most concerts are ticketed and sold by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. General advance sale for Bachfest 2027 starts on 24 November 2026, online through the official programme and by phone from abroad on +49 341 9137-333 (Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00 CET). For 2026, members of the Bach-Archiv's friends' associations had a two-week priority window before the general sale. Prices vary by concert and seating category: for the 2027 opening and closing concerts in the Thomaskirche they range from €25 to €140, with reduced prices for eligible groups. Some concerts are run by other organisers, such as the Gewandhaus, and are sold through their own channels.

The BachStage concerts on the Markt and the sing-along in the Hauptbahnhof are listed with free entry. Tickets generally can't be refunded or exchanged. In historic venues the view can be limited whatever the seating category, and there is no entry once a concert has started. During the festival, the Bachfest information and ticket counter on Petersstraße, near the Markt, has been open daily from 10:00 to 20:00.

• Timing: concerts run from late morning to late at night, and several often overlap, so plan your days with the online programme, which can be filtered by date and venue.
• Arrive on time: the organisers don't admit latecomers once a concert has started.
• Church galleries: in the Thomaskirche and Nikolaikirche the galleries can only be reached by stairs, and some seats have a limited view of the performers.
• Weather: the open-air BachStage concerts on the Markt take place in the evening; check the Deutscher Wetterdienst forecast for Leipzig before you go.
• Payment: tickets are bought online or by phone in advance; delivery by email is free, postal delivery costs €6.90.
• Local food: Leipzig Tourism points to the Leipziger Lerche, a shortcrust pastry with almonds, nuts, strawberry jam and marzipan that replaced the lark dish after the Saxon King banned lark hunting in 1876, and to Gose, a top-fermented, slightly sour wheat beer brewed with salt and coriander.

The Bach-Archiv says Bachfest concerts are accessible for wheelchair users, including the historic venues, and asks wheelchair users to book by writing directly to the Bach-Archiv (or to the organiser, such as the Gewandhaus or opera, where they run the concert). In the Gewandhaus, wheelchair spaces are on the right-hand Saalempore, reached by lift, with accessible toilets on the ground floor. In the Nikolaikirche, spaces are beside the centre aisle at rows 17 and 22; in the Thomaskirche they are in the crossing or centre aisle, with step-free entry next to Burgstraße. Neither church has an accessible toilet; the nearest public ones are listed on the Bachfest for wheelchair users page. Galleries are reached only by stairs. Disabled visitors can buy reduced tickets, and an accompanying person gets a free ticket. Contact: bachfest@bach-leipzig.de or +49 341 9137-300.

The FCDO's Germany travel advice does not advise against travel to any part of Germany. It warns that terrorist attacks could be indiscriminate and could target crowded places, public gatherings and cultural events, so stay alert at busy open-air concerts. It also advises taking sensible precautions against pickpocketing and bag-snatching, especially at railway stations and in crowded places. UK passports must have been issued less than 10 years before you arrive and be valid for at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen area.

• Before you go, read the UK government's FCDO travel advice for Germany (entry requirements, safety and local laws).
• Flight delayed or cancelled on the way? See our Travel Disruption guide for your rights and live alerts.