Wurstfest is a ten-day German heritage festival held each November at a dedicated festival ground in Landa Park, New Braunfels, founded in 1961 by city meat inspector Ed A. Grist as a one-day sausage celebration. It now draws more than 240,000 visitors for polka music, the Masskrugstemmen stein-holding competition, and an extensive German-Texan food menu.
Its scale and specific German-Texan identity make it a must-keep Texas event.
Wurstfest grew from a single day honoring local sausage-making into a ten-day institution that has survived both a devastating 2019 fire, which destroyed its historic Marktplatz food-booth area, and a full pandemic cancellation in 2020, the only cancellation in the festival's history, rebuilding to a record 240,000-plus attendees the year it returned
Its Masskrugstemmen competition, a stein-holding endurance contest now expanded to five days along the riverside grounds, and a dedicated beer-bottle museum housing more than 15,000 historic bottles give the festival collector-grade specificity beyond a typical Oktoberfest-style event
The Wurstkabob, a sampler of five different sausages on a single skewer, has become the festival's signature dish, a detail locals point to as distinctly Wurstfest rather than generic German fair food
The Masskrugstemmen stein-holding competition remains the festival's signature contest
expanded over the years to run across five days at a dedicated riverside area
The communal Ein Prosit toast
sung together throughout the festival
and an engraved memorial-brick program continue as recurring fixtures tied to the event's German-Texan cultural identity
6–15 November 2026
Driving from San Antonio or Austin is common.
German and Bavarian costuming, lederhosen and dirndls, is common and encouraged though not required. November evenings in the Hill Country turn genuinely cool, so a jacket is worth planning...
Wurstfest is easier when valuables are secure and the group knows where to meet if separated.
New Braunfels
Entry may be free while tastings, meals, or special tables are paid locally.
USD
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Wurstfest is listed for 6–15 November 2026. Always re-check the official or local source close to travel.
The festival is listed in New Braunfels, United States. The map coordinate is a planning reference, not a guarantee of a ticket gate or exact venue.
10 days is the listed festival span. Add time for arrival, local transport, queues, and any route changes during the event.
Official source linked. Eventisimus separates source confidence from travel suggestions, so check final details before booking.
New Braunfels, TX
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This guide is independently written by Eventisimus using publicly available information, official event and organiser sources where available, local tourism references, and additional editorial research. Eventisimus is not the official organiser of this festival and is not affiliated with it unless explicitly stated.
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