Ettlingen Castle Festival

What Ettlingen Castle Festival does

Schlossfestspiele Ettlingen (Ettlingen Castle Festival) is a municipal performing-arts institution operated by the City of Ettlingen (Stadt Ettlingen), a public-law corporation in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It produces an annual open-air summer theater festival staged in the historic Schlosshof (castle courtyard) and Schlossgartenhalle of Ettlingen Castle. Each season runs approximately eight weeks from mid-June to early August and presents 6-8 productions spanning musical theater, opera, drama, dance, and family shows; the 2026 season, themed "The In-Between," includes West Side Story, Carmina Burana, Peter Pan, Black or White, Hin und Her, a Goodbye Gala, Matinee, and Theaterfest. Intendantin Solvejg Bauer has led the festival for eight years, with 2026 announced as her final season.

The festival's monetization is a hybrid mix: ticket sales (direct-to-consumer via the third-party Reservix online platform, telephone and in-person booking through Touristinfo Ettlingen, and an evening box office), corporate sponsorship (a regional portfolio including Sparkasse Karlsruhe Ettlingen, Stadtwerke Ettlingen, GBM, Bardusch, Ensinger, Hoepfner, Oberkircher Winzer, Porsche, BNN, and Hotel Restaurant Erbprinz), donations, and a supporter association (Die Freunde der Schlossfestspiele e.V.). Pricing is tiered by seat category and production type (Abendstück vs. Familienstück), with non-combinable discounts for students, trainees, FSJ/BufDi participants, severely disabled persons, groups (10% for 20+, 20% for 50+), and a discretionary 10% Intendanz action discount; tickets include free KVV public transit on the event day. The festival builds grassroots audience ownership through community programs including the Bürgerchor (citizen choir), Talentschmiede talent workshop, and a Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr (FSJ) program, with seasonal technical staff led by Christian Held.

Technically, the organization is lean: a WordPress/Elementor website hosted externally, Vimeo/YouTube video delivery, Google Maps, Google Analytics, WordPress Statistics, and Borlabs Cookie for GDPR consent, with no proprietary software, APIs, or AI/ML components. Operations are concentrated in the Ettlingen/Karlsruhe region, the festival has no venture capital or external institutional investment, and it depends materially on continued municipal budget allocations from Stadt Ettlingen alongside ticket and sponsor revenue.

Name

Ettlingen Castle Festival

Legal name

Stadt Ettlingen

Website

https://schlossfestspiele-ettlingen.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Schlossfestspiele Ettlingen is a municipal open-air theater festival operated by the City of Ettlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, staging 6-8 musical theater, opera, drama, and family productions annually in the Schlosshof and Schlossgartenhalle of Ettlingen Castle during an eight-week summer season.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts / Outdoor Theater Festival

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711)

akta.pro primary industry

Outdoor Amphitheater & Open-Air Venue Operations (MPAGALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA), Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

Keywords

• Outdoor theater festival
• Open-air performances
• Musical theater productions
• Opera performances
• Community arts programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Ettlingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from sale of tickets to performances across multiple price categories. Tickets are sold online (Reservix), by phone, and at the Touristinfo and evening box office. Ermäßigungen (discounts) are offered to students, apprentices, FSJ/BufDi participants, severely disabled persons, and groups.
2. Sponsoring & Förderung: Corporate sponsors provide financial and in-kind support. The festival lists multiple sponsors including GBM, Sparkasse Karlsruhe Ettlingen, Stadtwerke Ettlingen, Bardusch, Ensinger, Privatbrauerei Hoepfner, Oberkircher Winzer, Ettlin, Comfortschuh, Watthallen, BNN, Porsche, and Hotel Restaurant Erbprinz.
3. Donations & Fundraising: The festival accepts donations through its website and has a supporter association 'Die Freunde der Schlossfestspiele e.V.' that raises funds for the festival.
4. Volunteer Programs: The festival offers a Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr (FSJ / Voluntary Social Year) program and recruits volunteer chorus members through the Bürgerchor program, reducing labor costs while building community ownership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Schlossfestspiele Ettlingen stages an annual summer open-air theater festival in the historic Schlosshof (castle courtyard) and Schlossgartenhalle at Ettlingen Castle, presenting 6-8 professional productions per season across musical theater, opera, drama, dance, and family programming. The festival runs approximately 8 weeks (mid-June to early August) and serves as the largest open-air theater festival in the Ettlingen/Karlsruhe region.

Product overview

Schlossfestspiele Ettlingen is an open-air theater festival held at Ettlingen Castle, consisting of a unified portfolio of theatrical productions and performances. The 2026 season, titled 'The In-Between,' features eight main productions including West Side Story, Carmina Burana, Peter Pan, Black or White, Hin und Her, Goodbye Gala, Matinee, and Theaterfest. The festival also offers community engagement programs including the 'Talentschmiede' talent workshop and 'Der Bürgerchor' citizen's choir. Ticketing services are provided through an external Reservix platform partnership. The festival operates primarily in the Schlosshof (castle courtyard), with additional venues including the Schloss and Schlossgartenhalle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Talentschmiede: Talent development program for young performers associated with the festival.
• Der Bürgerchor

Products and services

• West Side Story Musical theater production performed in the Schlosshof (castle courtyard) as part of the annual festival program, exploring themes of belonging and origin.
• Carmina Burana Large-scale scenic cantata performed outdoors in the castle courtyard, exploring themes between desire and transience.
• Peter Pan Family-friendly theatrical production exploring the theme of moving between childhood and adulthood.
• Black or White Theatrical production whose title represents the theme of duality, performed as part of the festival program.
• Hin und Her Drama production by Ödön von Horváth showing a person caught between two borders, between outside and inside, between escaping and arriving.
• Goodbye Gala Closing celebration gala event marking Intendantin Solvejg Bauer's final season as director of the festival.
• Theaterfest Theater festival celebration event included in the annual program.
• Talentschmiede Talent development program for young performers associated with the festival, providing workshops and theatrical pedagogy.
• Der Bürgerchor (Citizen's Choir) Citizen's choir program allowing community members to participate in festival productions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Festival runs approximately 8 weeks per season (mid-June to early August), presenting 6-8 diverse productions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ReservixcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReservix serves as the primary online ticketing platform for Schlossfestspiele Ettlingen. Tickets are sold through the Reservix portal at reservix.de, which handles payment processing, ticket issuance (Print@Home), and distribution. Reservix is a major German event ticketing provider.
• Touristinfo EttlingencoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Touristinfo Ettlingen serves as the primary physical box office and telephone booking center for the festival, handling group bookings, school bookings, and postal ticket delivery.
• BNN (Badische Neueste Nachrichten)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional newspaper (Baden region) listed as a sponsor and press partner, providing media coverage and marketing visibility for the festival.
• KVV (Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional public transport association. Festival tickets include free travel on KVV on the event day, providing a joint value-add for audiences and promoting sustainable attendance.

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Theatersommer Ludwigsburg: Summer open-air theater festival in the Blühendes Barock gardens in Ludwigsburg. Direct peer: regional Baden-Württemberg competitor running a summer open-air season of musicals, plays, and family productions.
• Bad Hersfelder Festspiele: Long-running German open-air theater festival held in the ruins of Bad Hersfeld Abbey. Direct peer: comparable scale and format (summer season, multi-genre musical theater and drama), similar municipal/regional sponsorship model.
• Freilichtspiele Schwäbisch Hall: Open-air theater productions staged on the steps of St. Michael's church in Schwäbisch Hall, Baden-Württemberg. Direct peer: very similar regional, municipal open-air summer theater model, also in Baden-Württemberg, with mixed-genre programming.
• Burgfestspiele Bad Vilbel: Open-air theater festival staged in the historic courtyard of Bad Vilbel Castle near Frankfurt. Direct peer: similarly operates an outdoor castle venue, runs a summer season of musical theater, drama, and family productions, and is a municipal cultural institution.
• Luisenburg-Festspiele Wunsiedel: Germany's oldest and one of the largest open-air rock/musical festivals, held on a natural rock stage in Wunsiedel, Bavaria. Direct peer: long-running outdoor summer festival format with mixed musical and dramatic programming at scale.

Broad incumbents

• Salzburger Festspiele: World-renowned summer festival in Salzburg combining opera, drama, and orchestral concerts. Broad incumbent: same summer festival / performing arts category but at a vastly larger international scale, serving as the prestige benchmark for regional festivals.
• Bregenzer Festspiele: Austrian lakeside festival famous for its floating Seebühne stage. Broad incumbent: same category of large-scale open-air summer performing arts festival but with significantly larger budget, international tourism draw, and prestige productions (e.g., opera on the lake).

Others

• Reservix: Major German event ticketing platform that serves as Schlossfestspiele Ettlingen's primary online ticket sales channel. Included as an ecosystem/partner: comparable festivals rely on the same distribution infrastructure, making Reservix a relevant operational peer rather than a competitor.

Regional players

• Karlsruher Schlosslichtspiele: Annual projection-mapping light show on the façade of Karlsruhe Palace. Regional peer: uses a nearby Baden palace as backdrop and pulls on the same Karlsruhe/Ettlingen regional audience, but delivers visual/light art rather than live theater.
• Schwetzinger Festspiele: Spring festival of opera, concerts, and chamber music at Schwetzingen Palace in Baden-Württemberg. Regional peer: comparable Southwest German palace/castle festival with curated multi-genre performing arts programming, but spring-focused and smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC_3wfHTFyYLIc_8pBw1Tx6g
• Facebookfacebook.com/schlossfestspiele.ettlingen.official
• Instagraminstagram.com/schlossfestspieleettlingen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schlossfestspiele-ettlingen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ettlingen Castle Festival