The Wave-Gothic-Treffen in Leipzig, Germany, is the largest gathering of Gothic fans in Europe, if not the world. With over 19,000 visitors this year, the festival broke its previous records. The annual festival is always held in multiple venues throughout Leipzig and is known for welcoming the entire family, including both young and old. This year, many set out to test this to its core. So, people packed up their children to see how family-friendly the festival is and how much of the program is suitable for kids… and many were pleasantly surprised.
With the festival schedule released a week prior, every festival visitor among you knows how crucial it is to plan, deciding which band you want to see, when, and where they play, especially when there are multiple stages. Now, the Wave-Gothic-Treffen (abbreviated as WGT) features approximately 30 venues, including exhibitions, public readings, guided tours, special acts, parties, workshops, and concerts by around 200 bands, among other events. All packed into four days! So, you can see, whether you travel with kids or not, you have to plan or be super spontaneous and just decide on the go what to do and who to see. Either way, your four days will be packed from morning till evening, and beyond. Fortunately, WGT has the “WGT Kompass”- an app for your phone that allows you to check on the go where to go and what is happening there — a perfect feature, not only for kids.
While the main festival began on June 6th and lasted until the 9th, an opening program took place on Thursday, featuring several exhibitions that were already open, as well as the usual opening parties. And to beat the post-festival-blues, there was the “Gabelfrühstück” (fork breakfast) on June 10th, which was like a brunch. Kids of all ages were welcome, of course.
In the WGT schedule, which you will receive upon check-in, the program is categorized into concerts, culture, parties, museums, and exhibitions. Let us begin with museums and exhibitions: Leipzig is a city full of history and art. Many buildings in Leipzig remain in excellent condition and boast a rich history. Similarly, the city’s cemeteries are also well-maintained. To delve deeper into these historic events and explore the remains of time, numerous guided tours are available through the historic city hall, the Südfriedhof (one of the city’s cemeteries), and the Paulinum, the university church. Many museums offer guided tours, as well as special exhibitions. The Natural History Museum, which had a special exhibition about taxidermy, even had a special event where you could watch the preparation process of a snowy owl! It could take up to eleven hours, and you could still not be entirely done! Impressive.
The Grassi, which houses multiple museums, including the Museum of Applied Arts, the Museum of Ethnology, and the Museum of Musical Instruments, even offers workshops: one for building your fan and one for creating jewelry out of soapstone. For workshops and guided tours, please arrive at least 15 minutes early. Only a limited number of visitors can take part in those!
Then, there are also other events at museums, like the “Klanglabor” – laboratory of sound – at the museum of musical instruments, where you could try all kinds of instruments. Those opening hours may differ from the actual museum hours, but they are usually not that crowded. The museum staff was always very kid-friendly, and even a buggy was no problem. At the National History Museum, visitors – and kids – could create their own model of a snail and take it home. At the same time, the Museum of Musical Instruments had an old piano available for try, in addition to its stunning sound laboratory. And if you or your kids are early risers, in a room in the central railway station was the “Bestarium,” an exhibition of illustrations of monsters by three Mexican artists.
For the cultural part of your day program, there are the “Passage Kinos” – a movie theater that showed two movies this year, both beginning around lunchtime. Additionally, the event featured cabaret and theater performances, as well as two children’s concerts, musicals, opera, and ballet performances, alongside lectures and readings. If this all sounds too boring for you or your kids, you could also go see a magic show, a gothic version of Wheel of Fortune, participate in a gothic run, take part at the Victorian or Steampunk picknick in the park, relax at a knitting afternoon, or watch stunning sword fights at “Heidnisches Dorf.”
About “Heidnisches Dorf” (pagan village): While agra fair ground is the central location for big acts, houses the big marketplace, is the meeting point for many gothic fans, and a sight for big and detailed gothic costumes, the pagan village is right next to it, with the campground between agra and the village, “Heidnisches Dorf” is home to the fans of medieval and pagan arts and culture. It features its marketplace, which offers a variety of handmade gems, a historic swing carousel, a storytime tent, and the Tin Figure Museum. This year, you did not have to leave the Agra grounds anymore and walk around to get to the village, but you could take a shortcut across the camping grounds, which was great. So this is definitely worth a visit!
Moving on to the category of Parties: Well, as you can imagine, this was not something many tested with kids, but it should be mentioned anyway. Most events listed under parties start late – even too late for the Agra kindergarten to use -and feature great DJs. So, if you have someone to watch the kids during the night or travel without them, check them out! What caught my eye in this year’s schedule is the “Absinth Frühschoppen”. It is not new, but it always makes me smile. “Frühschoppen” is a German word for a beer breakfast – or Äppler, or whatever kind of alcohol you prefer. And well, for WGT, that alcohol of choice is Absinthe. But during this “Absinth Frühschoppen,” you don’t just randomly drink, but actually get to try different kinds of absinthe. For those interested, this is recommended, but without kids, of course! And don’t drink and drive. However, with the festival wristband, you can still use public transportation.
And ultimately, the last category: Concerts – the actual reason for most of us to go to a festival. Aside from stunning shows by SITD, XOTOX, The 69 Eyes, Combichrist, Icon of Coil, Xandria, Alphaville, Kite, Zeraphine, Witt, Camouflage, and many more, in the context of WGT, some bands performed a special kind of set. But more about that later. First, let’s discuss concerts and children: There are laws in Germany stating that children under 6 years of age are not allowed to attend concerts and must be accompanied by an adult until the age of 15. Between the ages of 16 and 17, teenagers are allowed to visit concerts until midnight without an adult, but after midnight, they must be accompanied by an adult. At 18 years, you are considered an adult and allowed to attend shows on your own, for as long as you please.
Having said this, there are always exceptions to the rule: Special kids shows ight grant access for kids under the age of 6, while, especially at WGT, there might be other shows, such as fetish and erotica, that might grant no access for anyone under 18, regardless of showtime. So be sure to check this ahead of time in the app or the festival planner.
And here is why WGT is great with kids again: They offer their very own kindergarten at the Agra fairground, where you can leave your kids for up to 3 hours between 3 pm and 10 pm, while you attend a show that they cannot accompany you to. There is a sandbox to play in, and the kids can color or get crafty. During their stay, your children will also receive drinks. Perfect, right?
Now, there is another thing worth speaking of: Venues have maximum capacities – obviously – and certain acts are extremely popular. So, arrive early, be prepared to wait, and keep in mind that there’s a chance you might not be able to get in at all. This is especially true for smaller venues, such as Felsenkeller and the churches, as well as Moritzbastei, Täubchenthal, and Stadtbad, but even Agra can reach capacity.
Some stood in line for Janus at Peterskirche on Sunday. With three performances of 90 minutes within 24 hours, Janus set out for their very own WGT marathon. First, they performed at Felsenkeller on a late Saturday evening, followed by a very intimate concert with only Toby and RIG at Schumann Haus, and finally, the big closing at Peterskirche. Before sharing the juicy details of their performance in the church, let us provide a brief introduction to Janus: Janus is a German project founded by Singer Dirk Riegert, known as RIG, and Pianist Tobi Hahn in 1995.
With their debut album, Vater, in 1998 and their sophomore album, Schlafende Hunde, in 2000, they embarked on their only tour in the typical context in 2001. Since then, they have sought out unique venues and concepts that complement their distinctive sound. And successfully so. They became an exclusive insider tip amongst gothic fans. This performance at Peterskirche on June 9th, as part of WGT, along with their previous two performances within less than 24 hours, is a perfect example of this exclusivity. So it was no wonder that the entire place in front of the church was crowded with fans. The chaired chapel would not accommodate everyone outside, but those who managed to get inside and secure a chair were in for a wonderful experience that would later move them to tears.
With a few wind instruments, a piano, and a cello, Janus was prepared for a stunning 90 minutes. After a brief greeting, the band began, and SIG’s voice filled the church, echoing from the walls to bounce back and dig deep underneath everyone’s skin. The pure voice and sound of the instruments were crystal clear, and you could hear every sound in the church. The audience quietly sat in awe, almost too impressed to breathe. The cheering after each song was intense, as Janus gave a fantastic set, playing songs from their entire repertoire. It was a wonderfully spent 90 minutes in a beautiful venue.
A concluding evaluation: If you want to go to a festival with kids and enjoy Gothic music, the annual WGT in Leipzig, Germany, is a great choice. There is so much to do and to see that it will take you multiple years of WGT to get through the museum, exhibitions, and guided tours alone. Along with the concerts and all the other impressive items on the agenda, this festival never fails to be engaging. And there is always an alternative for a rainy day, a too sunny day, a too crowded place, a complete workshop, or whatever. Everybody in the festival staff, museum staff, locals, and visitors are super friendly and helpful to you and your kids. What is also essential to mention, especially with kids, is that the prices for food and espresso at the Agra fairgrounds and Heidnisches Dorf are very reasonable. Even cheaper than in the city center!
So, should families revisit this? Absolutely! Kids will love it, and it’s surprisingly stress-free compared to any other weekend trip. And that is thanks to the super kid-friendly staff, as well as locals and visitors. It cannot be emphasized enough how well everyone looked out for them, in terms of making room for them, letting them skip the (restroom) line, and such. Many thanks to the WGT team and the museums in Leipzig. Cryptic Rock gives the festival 5 out of 5 stars for being family-friendly!
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