Curious? Here is the link to listen in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52UHOKuBxzY

Historic birthday

Siegen was first mentioned in a document in 1224 and has developed into a city worth living and loving to this day. For those interested, the organisation team led by Astrid Schneider, head of the city's culture department, has prepared numerous historical lectures that shed light on Siegen's city history.
An overview can be found here: https://www.siegen800.de/themen/siegen-ist-traditionell/

The city's anniversary will of course also be properly celebrated - with a varied supporting programme featuring many highlights, festivities and prominent visitors.

The highlights

XXL city festival
From the 30th of August till the 1st iof September, a colourful birthday celebration awaited visitors in the city centre between the train station and market, at Kölner Tor and Europasstraße (formerly Hindenburgstraße) as well as in the Schlosspark with lots of creative and hands-on activities for young and old. The main stage moved from Sandstraße to ”Unteres Schloss” (lower castle) in 2024. After the ceremonial opening on the square of the “Unteres Schloss“ followed by an ecumenical open-air church service, there was live music on four stages, including the ‘Willer Watz’ techno festival at the Lower Castle.

More information: https://www.siegen800.de/veranstaltungen/siegener-stadtfest/

Glut. From the fire chronicle of a city
The sound of mighty anvil and iron blows can be heard from afar, fire projections bathe the surroundings in a sea of red light. The station theatre ‘Glut. From the fire chronicle of a city’ offered impressive acoustic and visual fire scenarios throughout the castle park. From 10 p.m., the Berlin ensemble ‘Theater Anou’ staged the castle park and the newly renovated city wall with fantastic light shows. Specially created for Siegen's anniversary, the artists brought the city's history to life in a unique spectacle that was poetic and appealing to all the senses.

More information: https://www.siegen800.de/veranstaltungen/glut-aus-der-feuerchronik-einer-stadt-2/

Old Town Festival
The annual Old Town Festival in 2024 was also dedicated to the 800th anniversary celebrations. On the 15th of September, the alleyways of the Old Town and Pfarrer-Ochse-Platz behind the St Marien Church were transformed into a medieval festival site with an exciting rally, live music and a colourful programme. This year there was a lot going on in the best late summer weather and, for the first time, the Old Town festival area covered the entire upper town.

Curtain up! Siegen's history brought to the stage
The Apollo Theatre and the Bruchwerktheater are staging Siegen and its history as theatre material to mark the anniversary. The world premieres of the plays ‘Schacht 1’ and ‘Schacht 2’ will take place in October and November and take visitors on a journey through the hard labour of the miners underground and the typical spirituality and mentality of the people of Siegen.

Grand finale on New Year's Eve
On the 31st of December, Siegen residents and other visitors were invited to the big New Year's Eve party on the Schlossplatz. The magic of the christmas market with delicious food and drinks and a live DJ created a real party atmosphere. Instead of a simple firework display, a spectacular laser show took place at twelve o'clock, throwing fantastic motifs into the Siegen night sky.

These were just the highlights of the anniversary year. There were also numerous other events in the areas of sport, culture and leisure. All dates and information can be found on the official website for the city anniversary:www.siegen800.de