Castlefest is a medieval/fantasy festival in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, held in the gardens of

Castle Keukenhof Keukenhof (; ), also known as the Garden of Europe, is one of the world's largest flower gardens, situated in the municipality of Lisse, in the Netherlands. According to the official website, Keukenhof Park covers an area of and approximately 7 ...

Lisse Lisse () is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland in the Western Netherlands. The municipality, which lies within the Duin- en Bollenstreek, covers an area of of ...

since 2005.

History

During the first edition in 2005, 3,500 visitors attended the event, in 2007 the festival attracted 16,000 visitors and in 2011 more than 24,000 visitors entered the gates of Castlefest. In August 2015 the festival attracted a record number of 35,000 visitors. At the 14th edition in 2018, more than 40,000 people attended the festival. Because of the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands The COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus reached the Netherlands on 27 February 2020, when its first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Tilburg. It involved a 56-year-old Dutchman ...

, the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled. The 2020 edition was replaced by a three-day online event with music and guests, and the regional television station TV West aired a programme looking back at the 2019 edition. Along with the

Wave-Gotik-Treffen The (WGT; German for "Wave Gothic Meeting") is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds (gothic rock, Electronic body music, EBM, Industrial music, indust ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, Germany, Castlefest has played an important role in the establishment of a

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

for

neopagan music Modern pagan music or neopagan music is music created for or influenced by modern Paganism. Music produced in the interwar period include efforts from the Latvian Dievturība movement and the Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt. The counterculture o ...

in Europe.

Activities

Castlefest 2009 - Forrest Stage - Omnia 2

Castlefest is held on the first weekend of August in the gardens of

, the Netherlands. It takes part during three days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with an opening concert on Thursday (since 2011). There are several

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and neo-medieval bands performing each year at the festival. In addition to music, there are workshops, stands with medieval food and drinks, medieval dancing and writers of

fantasy literature Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fan ...

present. The festival is based on the Celtic feast of

Lughnasadh Lughnasadh, Lughnasa or Lúnasa ( , ) is a Gaels, Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Traditionally, it is held on 1 August, or abo ...

and Saturday night is the Pagan Night (most notable for the

wicker Wicker is a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as . Wicker was first documented ...

burning each year).

References

External links

Official website

at Fok!nieuws Festivals in the Netherlands Festivals established in 2005 Fantasy conventions 2005 establishments in the Netherlands Lisse Medieval-themed fairs Summer in the Netherlands Modern pagan music festivals {{netherlands-stub

History

Activities

See also

References

Further reading

External links