Castlefest is a medieval/fantasy festival in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, held in the gardens of Castle Keukenhof in

Lisse Lisse () is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Western Netherlands. The municipality, which lies within the Duin- en Bollenstreek, covers an area of of which is water. Its population was in . Located within the muni ...

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 Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT; ) is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds (gothic rock, gothic metal, EBM, industrial, noise, darkwave, neo-folk, neo-cl ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

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

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

for

neopagan music 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 of the 1960s establishe ...

in Europe.

Activities

Castlefest 2009 - Forrest Stage - Omnia 2

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

, 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 music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

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 or Lughnasa ( , ) is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. In Modern Irish it is called , in gd, Lùnastal, and in gv, ...

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

wicker Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...

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 events in the Netherlands Modern pagan music festivals {{netherlands-stub

History

Activities

See also

References

Further reading

External links