The 14 best techno festivals in Germany (Summer 2023)

A list with the best techno festivals in Germany. All festivals are organised in the summer of 2023, focus on electronic music, include camping and are not further than 3 hours from Berlin.

Visiting festivals are the highlights of the year for many people. Enjoying great music, having a good time with your friends and getting away from the daily stress is just a wonderful feeling. When it comes to music festivals, Germany has a lot to offer.  Thousands of music festivals are organised each year. If you like electronic music you came to the right place because this post lists the best techno festivals in Germany in 2023.

Why visit a techno festival in Germany?

German techno festivals are unique. It’s not without a reason that people from all over the world visit them. Here are the main reasons why you should visit a techno festival in Germany:

• Affordable: Electronic festivals in Germany are affordable. You usually pay about 50€ per day and that’s less than most other western countries.
• Bring your own liquor: In most other countries you can only bring your own liquor to the campsite. On most techno festivals in Germany you can bring that liquor to the dance-floor too.
• Great line-ups: When it comes to techno and other electronic music, Germany offers loads of talented DJs and many of them are excited to play at techno festivals in the summer of 2023.
• Friendly Atmosphere: Sustainability, mutual respect and taking care of each other are very important values on electronic festivals. We can confirm that the festivals in this list offer a friendly and peaceful atmosphere.

Looking for a free festival experience? Berlin also offers free yearly festivals and parades which are really worth your time. We listed the best free events for you.

The best electronic music festivals in Germany

As the title implies, all festivals in this list focus mainly on electronic music. Techno, electro and house often have a dedicated stage but on most festivals you also will find smaller stages with other electronic music styles like trance, disco, dubstep, drum & bass and more. Some of the larger festivals have a stage for bands. The ranking in this post is mainly based on the price per day, the atmosphere, the quality of the line-up and the location.

To make it easy to compare the techno festivals in Germany, you can also jump to the overview of all information at the end of this post.

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01. Fusion Festival 2023

If you ever have read an article about the best festivals in the world you must have noticed that the German festival called Fusion is almost always featured in the top 14. Fusion (or Фузион) is different from any other festival in the world and we would recommend everybody to visit it at least once. The first edition of this German festival was organised in 1997 and the location has always been a military basis called Lärz. About 150km from Berlin around than 70.000 people come together to forget about their daily lives and have a good time.

The best techno festival in Germany in 2023

It is hard to explain what makes Fusion Festival the best German festival. It might be the fact that you can choose between 20 different stages with great electronic DJs. Or maybe it’s the huge amount of other entertainment like karaoke, workshops, stand-up comedy and poetry-slams. But in the end we believe it’s mainly the unique vibe that makes the real difference. On this electronic festival everything seems to be allowed but nobody is misbehaving. It’s this laidback atmosphere with almost no rules which is unique.

More than 5 days of dance festival for 220€

Just like the parties in Berlin, Fusion has extreme opening hours. The official line-up starts on Thursday and keeps going until Monday. But you are allowed on the campsite on Wednesday already and there are small after-parties until almost one week after that. The price of a ticket for Fusion Festival is 220€ which is quite a bit but if you break it down it’s less than 50€ per day.

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02. Wilde Möhre Festival

About 120km south of Berlin you can find a forest in which the Wilde Möhre is organised every year. The first edition was organised in 2013 and in our opinion this German festival gets better every year. It showed so much dedication that this festival even took place in the tough Corona-year 2020. The organisers just makes many great choices and really listen to their visitors. One great choice was sticking to several smaller editions of Wilde Möhre instead of having one annual editions which was quite crowded.

Choose which Wilde Möhre fits you best

As mentioned above, there will be several editions of the Wilde Möhre festival. They all offer electronic music but besides that they have a slightly different focus. There is usually a stage with techno but also some stages with more melodic electronic music. Last year talented DJs like Bebetta, Isabeau Fort and David Jach were performing. Besides music you can play table-tennis, eat some great vegetarian food and join things like karaoke and workshops. Here are the Wilde Möhre editions in 2023:

• Seelenschaukel – 28.07. – 31.07.2023
  Besides DJs you can enjoy Workshops focused on Body & Soul (e.g. Meditation, Yoga)
• Klimperkiste – 11.08. – 14.08.2023
  Besides DJs there will also be Bands and other live-acts and DIY-Workshops
• Maskenball – 18.08. – 21.08.2023
  Besides DJs you will be able to enjoy performances and inspiring presentation

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03. Feel Festival 2023

A German festival with one of the best locations is the Feel Festival. It’s located directly at the water of the Bergheider See and you can dance and camp on the beach of that water. Besides water the Feel Festival also has several stages in a forest and a versatile program with workshops, performances and other forms of entertainment. The Feel Festival really deserved a top-3 spot in this list with best festivals in Germany.

More than 20 different stages – Electronic music & Bands

The Feel Festival offers around 20 different stages. About 15 are solely used for music and others are used for presentations and other performances. There is also one stage which is basically used as a cinema. The music-stages mainly focus on electronic music but you can also enjoy bands at this German festival. In the last years names like Claptone, Giant Rooks, Pan-Pot, Oliver Koletzki, Mighty Oaks played on this festival.

If you want to learn more you can read our full review of Feel Festival 2016.

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04. Nation of Gondwana

Another remarkable techno festival in Germany is called Nation of Gondwana. The first edition was organised in 1995 which makes it the oldest festival in our list. Every year around 10.000 people visit this dance festival at the Waldsee in Grünefeld, which is only 60km from Berlin. The festival officially starts on Friday 15.00 and keeps going until Sunday 21.00. You could say that Nation of Gondwana focuses on quality over quantity. By the way: It’s pretty awesome that you can park your car directly next to your tent on this dance festival near Berlin.

Techno festival near Berlin

Nation of Gondwana offers its visitors four different stages. It’s mainly a techno festival but you will also hear some house, trance and disco. You could compare the music on Nation of Gondwana with the music of the nightlife in Berlin. The most popular floor of Nation is located directly at the water: You can dance directly in the soft sand and take a refreshing dive too. Nation of Gondwana mainly focuses on delivering the best music-experience with the best sound systems and lights and not so much on side-activities like workshops. The ticket-sale of Nation of Gondwana starts in April 2023 and the tickets were priced at 169€ last year.

You can read more in our review of Nation of Gondwana 2022.

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05. Mit Dir Festival 2023

When you like to visit an intimate festival, you should consider the Mit Dir Festival in the south of Berlin. This festival only sells 2.500 tickets and is totally non-commercial. The organisation is a group of friends who mainly want to have a good time and not loose money on the festival. The visitors follow the great example of the organisation and ensure a fantastic vibe.

Intimate festival with 3 stages

Mit Dir Festival offers tree dance floors and one alternative stage on which you can find a versatile program with things like karaoke, poetry-slams and interactive activities. The festival will be organised close to a lake so going for a swim in the hot month of July is not a problem. The line-up of Mit Dir Festival is similar to the DJs which you will be able to see in Berliner clubs like the Sisyphos, About:Blank and Ritter Butzke. The last couple of years DJs like Reinier Zonneveld, Marcus Meinhardt and Jan Oberlaender have been performing here.

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06. Wurzelfestival 2023

A techno festival in east Germany which you might not have heard about before is called The Wurzelfestival. This festival takes place in the so called Secret Forest which offers nice scenarios as you can see in the image below. There are 6 music-stages with electronic music and 3 more locations for activities, performances and shows. Every year approximately 8000 visit the Wurzel Festival and in 2023 this German festival celebrates its 10th anniversary.

German techno festival with plenty of other electronic music

On the floors of the Wurzel Festival you can find a wide range of music-styles. Besides the usual Techno, House and Electro you can enjoy less mainstream styles like Afrohouse, Synth Pop, Dubstep, Psytrance and Drum & Bass. We visited the Wurzel Festival in 2018 and can recommend visiting this electronic music festival to everyone does not need 70.000 people like Fusion or famous names on the line-up like Garbicz.

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07. 3000 Grad Festival

A lovely smaller festival about 140km south of Berlin, is called the 3000 Grad Festival. The vibe on this festival is very friendly and this might be related to the amount of visitors: About 4500 people visit this festival every year and the reviews are solely positive. Smaller festivals like this are great because you will meet the same people several times and you do not have to walk far between stages. If you want to enjoy several days of open-air festival, you might want to consider visiting the 3000 Grad Festival.

Electronic music festival with bands and live performances

The 3000 Grad Festival offers a nice mix of talented DJs and a bunch of bands & live-acts, The line-up for 2023 is not published yet but last couple of years names like Dole & Kom, Judith van Waterkant, Kollektiv Ost, Super Flu and Pan-Pot have been playing here. It is organised directly next to a lake just like many other electronic festivals in 2023. The tickets can be bought for 179€ and this German festival will take place from 11 till 13 August.

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08. Garbicz Festival 2023

A festival which is located across the Polish border but still only 135km from Berlin is called Garbicz Festival. It is is located directly at a water, which makes it a perfect place to be in August. Every year around 7.000 people visit the Garbicz-Festival which makes it medium-sized compared to the other festivals in Germany. The image below shows the beautiful location and should get you excited about the festival season.

Famous Techno DJs from all over the world

Garbicz offers a mix of electronic music styles on several stages. On previous editions techno-DJs like RØDHÅD, Seth Troxler, AndHim and Ricardo Villalobos have been performing here. This means you can expect music similar to the techno-clubs in Berlin.

One of the most expensive German festivals

The Garbicz Festival is the most expensive German festival in this list. The tickets can be bought for 390-480€ depending how early you decide. A free bus-ride from Berlin and 80€ worth of wristband-credit are included in the ticket but that does not change the fact that it’s twice as expensive as most German festivals in 2023.

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09. Praerie Festival 2023

The Praerie Festival will be organised in the last weekend of July and is located about 150km north of Berlin. It’s one of the newer festivals but most feedback from the last years is very positive. With 2000 visitors it’s one of these cosy festivals with a great atmosphere. You meet the same people more than once and everybody is laidback and friendly. A small Bimmelbahn takes you to a lake for a refreshing dive in the water.

Solid line-up with mainly German DJs

Part of the line-up for the summer of 2023 has been published already. Names like Oliver Koletzki, Jan Oberlaender, Andreas Henneberg and Bonnie Ford will make sure there is plenty of great electronic livesets. Besides electronic music there are also some live-acts and plenty of workshops. There are 4 different floors to choose from. The tickets for the Praerie Festival started at 99€ (early-bird) and can currently be bought for 150€ (late bird).

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10. VËRYL Festival

The VËRYL Festival is organised near Berlin in a town called Werneuchen. It will take you about 30 minutes by car but you can also take the free shuttle-bus from Berlin. Besides high-quality music you will also be able to enjoy a wide range of workshops and a swimming pool. The VËRYL Festival also takes festival-food to the next level by offering a three-course-dinner on Thursday and Friday.

House, Techno, Workshops and more

At the VËRYL Festival you will be able to dance on 3 different stages with mainly techno and house music. Last year talented DJs like Job Jobse, DJ Tennis and Roi Perez were performing on this dance festival. The tickets can be bought for 119€ which makes it one of the cheaper techno festivals in this list.

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11. Melt Festival

In 1997, more than 20 years ago, some of the most famous German festivals was organised for the first time. The Melt Festival is located at an abandoned colliery which goes by the name Ferropolis. The Ferropolis is often referred to as the City of Iron because a lot of large machines and old cranes can still be found on this island. This might not sound spectacular at first, but the island is a very unique location for a festival. Besides the nice location Melt also offers 12 different stages with many famous headliners in all sorts of music-categories.

Famous names – Versatile music styles

Compared to other festivals in this list, Melt can be called a more commercial festival. The headliners, the large sponsors and the prizes differ to festivals like Mit Dir Festival,Fusion and Nation of Gondwana. But this is not necessarily a bad thing: If you like headliners like Bicep, Solomun, Boys Noize, Marcel Dettmann and many more will be performing in the summer of 2023. Melt used to be one of the more expensive festivals but the price has stayed stable the last couple of years and with 169€ it’s one of the more affordable festivals in 2023.

Wanna read more about Melt? Check out our Festival-Review from 2015.

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12. Jubel Jahre Festival 2023

A small festival which is organised in Galenbeck (just like Praerie Festival) is called Jubel Jahre. The festival will be organised for the 3rd time this summer and the first editions have been a great success. Mainly the great atmosphere, the uncomplicated arrival and the music are praised by the previous visitors.

2 Dancefloors from Friday till Sunday

The Jubel Jahre Festival offers 2 dance-floors with mostly electronic music. The stages open on Friday 12.00 and close on Sunday 20.00. This makes it a bit shorter than most other dance festivals in this list. But the good thing is that it’s affordable: If you manage to find 4 friends you only pay 555€ for 5 tickets which is a fair price.

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13. Habitat Festival

The Habitat Festival is a festival which mainly focuses on electronic music and is organised in Hamburg. From Berlin you need about 2,5 hours by train. Habitat is shorter than the other German festivals in this list because it starts on Saturday around 14.00 and ends on Sunday 22.00. Last year no camping was included in the ticket but the organisation promised us they are trying to change this for the summer of 2023. This is great for the people who like to lay down before they travel home.

32 hours of techno in Hamburg

As mentioned above, the Habitat Festival is a bit different than the other techno festivals in this list: It’s basically a non-stop rave of 32 hours. As mentioned the Habitat is a bit shorter but this is also represented in the ticket-prices: Tickets can be bought for 55€ (Early Bird) which makes it the cheapest techno festival in this list. Last year Techno-DJs like Ellen Allien, Joseph Disco, Bloody Mary and Annett Gapstream performed on this techno festival in Germany.

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14. SonneMondSterne 2023

The year 1997 was quite a special year for German festivals because besides Melt and Fusion it was also the first year SonneMondSterne was organised. In that year, already more than 25 years ago, only 2500 people visited the first SonneMondSterne. Nowadays SonneMondSterne got a lot larger and more popular and the last years about 40.000 people enjoyed this electronic festival. The festival takes place close to Saalburg and as you can see on the image below, it might be a good idea to pack your bikini and/or swim short.

Headliners like Armin van Buuren and Macklemore

If you looking for famous headliners SonneMondSterne is definitely the best electronic festival in Germany for you. With names like Ben Böhmer, Boris Brejcha, Charlotte de Witte, Amelie Lens, Armin van Buuren and Macklemore the line-up already looks awesome right now. More large names will be added step by step. The only reason why we do not rank SonneMondSterne a bit higher is because this festival is more commercial than the other festivals and also does not have that friendly vibe like Wilde Möhre, Mit Dir or 3000 Grad.

 

Overview – Compare German festivals

All in all we can conclude that there are plenty of interesting techno festivals in Germany. Deciding between them is hard, even if you have read every word of this article. The table below should make it easier to compare the German festivals and make a decision. Just find out what is most important to you and decide based on that column.

Frequently asked questions – All You Need to Know

If you have any questions left after reading this post, the following FAQ might be helpful. Feel free to leave any other questions in the comment section and we will get back to you within a day.