Churches & Cemeteries

21.00 – 02.00 (Doors open at 20.30)

Rave300 x WGT – "Dark Techno Edition"

A church becomes a dance temple: three DJs, a concert as well as "drag performances and walking acts", plus a 360-degree stage and special lighting and projections that showcase the vault of St. Peter's Church to intense Dark Techno beats.

21.00 – 22.00 Concert: The Moderna (Synth Pop, Cold Wave)
22.00 – 23.30 DJ Torben Schmidt (Infacted Recordings)
23.30 – 00.45 DJ xBRAYNE and Nastja Areshky ("Drag Performance")
00.45 – 02.00 DJ𝑿² aka Speedy b2b Cath Boo

19.00

Guided tour in GERMAN:"Lebendige Friedhöfe" ("Living Cemeteries")

You can expect exciting and informative insights into the cemetery, not only as a place of death, but also as a place of life.

Meeting point: Südfriedhof, West Entrance, Friedhofsweg 3

20.15

Bat stations with information (in GERMAN) about bats and their protection, followed by bat tracking.

Among other things, you can expect a small exhibit of preserved specimens, a station for visiting a winter roost, a demonstration of tracking devices, information booths, and the opportunity to use the "BATVISION" VR headset to experience what it's like to be a bat and try out echolocation. The Leipzig Nature Conservation Association (NABU), the Borna-Birkenhain Eco-Station, and the Noctalis Bat Center from Bad Segeberg are jointly offering various insights into the world of these small flying creatures. At the end of the evening, equipped with bat detectors, we will explore the fauna of the South Cemetery.

Meeting point: Columbarium (the previous tour "Lebendige Friedhöfe" ends here)

15.00 – 16.00 and 16.30 – 17.30

Guided tour in GERMAN: "Gräber, Grüfte und Geschichte(n) - der Alte Johannisfriedhof"
("Graves, crypts and history(ies) - the Old St. John's Cemetery")

A cemetery for strolling, a park full of gravestones – the Old St. John's Cemetery in Leipzig is both. Many famous figures are associated with it. The guided tour follows in the footsteps of Johann Sebastian Bach, Richard Wagner's parents, Goethe's lover, and the founder of the allotment garden movement.

Registration: at the ticket office of the neighboring Grassi Museums
Meeting point: 2nd courtyard of the Grassi Museums, passage to the Johannisfriedhof cemetery.

16.00 – 17.15 (Doors open at 15.30)

Concert: "STARLIGHTS LIVE -The organ exorcism at WGT 2026"

When the "queen of instruments" breaks free from its constraints: Organ rebel Nico WieditzIt once again combines different music genres in a surprising way. Epic classics like Swan Lake, the Toccata, and Ave Maria collide with brutal electro beats. Cult soundtracks such as Interstellar, Das Boot, and Terminator are drawn into dark, pounding atmospheres, while hits by Depeche Mode and The Prodigy, and Faithless’ classic "God is a DJ" resound in a completely new guise.

In addition to his improvisations, Nico Wieditz will present excerpts from his new album "Starlights Forever" for the first time, which was recorded in the historic setting of the Babelsberg film studio.

19.00

34th Festival of Medieval and Renaissance Music
Concert with vocal and instrumental soloists of the Capella Fidicinia Leipzig, conducted by Martin Krumbiegel

Pentecostal music from the 9th to the 16th centuries, including works by Orlando di Lasso, John Dunstable, Thomas Stoltzer, Gregor Aichinger, and Gregorian chants.

16.00 – 17.00

Guided tour and lecture in GERMAN: "Friedhofsgeflüster" mit der Schwarzen Witwe ("Cemetery Whispers" with the Black Widow)

Meeting point: Forecourt of the ceremony hall

"Von Leichenbitter und Tröstelbier" ("Of funeral bitters and consolation beer")
Let the Black Widow whisk you away to the 19th century. Learn more about the customs, traditions, and superstitions of our ancestors. How did they deal with dying, death, and grief? What rituals did they practice? Why should you never call a dying person by name, and what does the dove have to do with death? Who or what are "Leichenbitter"? And why did our ancestors know immediately who was being buried when the church bells rang? Many of these questions will be answered and complemented with fascinating personal accounts.

11.00

Guided tour in GERMAN: Mit der Wagner-Straßenbahn vom Alten Johannisfriedhof zum Richard-Wagner-Hain
(“With the Wagner-Tram from the Old St. John's Cemetery to the Richard Wagner Grove”)

The history of the Old St. John's Cemetery as a burial ground ended in 1883 after almost 600 years. The cemetery was then secularized and today, as a "cemetery park," contains approximately 400 gravestones, often of artistic and cultural-historical significance. These include the grave of Richard Wagner's mother and his favorite sister Rosalie, erected in 1910 in Section V, and the memorial stone for his father, erected in 2013 in Section IV. Ursula Oehme recounts the adventurous history of the graves and their monuments, a history in which even Cosima Wagner, the "Mistress of the Green Hill" in Bayreuth, became involved.

After a good hour, the group walks to the Johannisplatz tram stop, where the Wagner-Tram departs for Angerbrücke at approximately 12.40 with Helmut Loos. He first accompanies the group to the memorial stone commemorating the founding of the Richard Wagner Association of German Women in 1909 in the Palmengarten, before the tour through the Richard-Wagner-Hain begins. Following a 1932 call for proposals across all of Germany under Mayor Carl Goerdeler, the Richard Wagner Monument, designed by Emil Hipp, was to be erected here, but this was rejected by the city of Leipzig after the Nazi takeover and the Second World War.

Meeting point: Alter Johannisfriedhof, Täubchenweg entrance
WGT visitors should contact Mr. Hauer to receive their free admission ticket.

11.00 to 18.00

The funeral halls and the crematorium are open for viewing.

In the colonnade in front of the funeral halls, Roland Krawulsky (Dark Art Studios) presents photos from his series "Beauty & Death" featuring images of European cemeteries.

16.00 in the main chapel:

Choral concert for Pentecost with the Leipzig-North Men's Choir
Director: Matthias Domsgen

The program includes works by Carl Loewe, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Friedrich Silcher, Franz Schubert and some folk songs.

16.00 – 17.00

Guided tour and lecture in GERMAN: "Friedhofsgeflüster" mit der Schwarzen Witwe ("Cemetery Whispers" with the Black Widow)

Meeting point: Forecourt of the ceremony hall

"Von Totenwache und Leichenfotografie" ("Of wakes and corpse photography")
With the charming Black Widow, who seems to have stepped straight out of the Victorian era, contemplating death becomes a joyful experience. Humorous and lighthearted, she chats about what awaits us all. She lets us share in a time when the end of life was taken for granted and families consciously said their goodbyes. She explains why, back then, one had to keep watch over the deceased until the funeral, what a "dancing corpse" is, and what body holders were used for.

14.00

Concert: Hexperos

Hexperos is an Italian music ensemble known for its unique blend of neoclassical chamber music and neo-folk, strongly influenced by medieval and Celtic traditions. The name Hexperos is inspired by the Hesperides of Greek mythology – legendary nymphs who tended the garden of golden apples – and by Hesperus, the evening star, who symbolizes beauty, mystery and celestial wonders.

Alessandra Santovito is a founding member and composer of the songs and lyrics of Hexperos. She was also a composer and co-founder of the dark wave band Gothica. With haunting female vocals, delicate harp sounds, violin, flutes and ritualistic percussion, the project, founded in 2004, creates ethereal soundscapes that float between light and darkness.

16.00 – 17.30 (Doors open at 15.00)

Concert: Vaughn George interprets Depeche Mode

Vaughn George is a YouTuber, musician, and keyboardist for the British synth-pop band Mesh, known for his interpretations of electronic pop music, with a particular focus on Depeche Mode. His channel often features flowing piano renditions of his favorite Depeche Mode songs, showcasing the beauty of these stripped-down pieces. Vaughn George is now bringing this concept from the studio to the stage.

19.00 – 20.15 (Doors open at 18.30)

Concert: Sven Friedrich & Dirk Riegner - "Piano Sessions"

When two giants of the dark music scene join forces for an exclusive project, something special is born: Sven Friedrich (Solar Fake, Zeraphine) and pianist Dirk Riegner (known for his work with Peter Heppner and In Strict Confidence, among others) bring the essence of their music to the stage: just piano and vocals. Dirk Riegner's virtuoso piano playing meets Sven's unmistakable vocals. The repertoire includes selected pieces from Solar Fake and Zeraphine, which, in this intimate setting, reveal a completely new depth and fragility.

14.00 – 15.00 (Doors open at 13.00)

Reading (in GERMAN): Oswald Henke – Provokant und auf den Punkt gebracht: "Menschenfrei Entartet" (Provocative and to the point: "Degenerate Without Humanity")

Oswald Henke quotes neologisms and neologisms, naturally discussing further chapters of his educational guide – a deeply cynical pedagogy of an unfree spirit.
A literary excursion without literature, but full of bittersweet moments. Laughter and tears are permitted. However, boisterous behavior is forbidden, and clapping along will be punished with a substantial blood debt. Free of fairytale princes and toy soldiers, but full of reflections on our own mortality and the finiteness of all existence.

16.00 – 17.30 (Doors open at 15.00)

Concert: The Beauty of Gemina Trio+ - exclusive German premiere of the program "Lights from the Depths"

For almost 19 years, Michael Sele and The Beauty of Gemina have been delighting fans around the world with their unique blend of sonorous rock, earthy folk, bluesy riffs and dark wave.

With the project "Trio+", Michael Sele’s songs unfold a new, compelling dimension. Together with multi-instrumentalist Philipp Küng, cellist Stefania Verità and TBOG founding member Mac Vinzens, arrangements are created that weave wave, blues and folk with chamber music-like post-rock and dark indie-pop nuances.

What once began as the musical readings "Shadows over Nothingness" with acting icon Katharina Thalbach has developed into a special live experience.

18.00 – 19.30 (Doors open at 17.30)

Reading in GERMAN: Markus Heitz & Jessica Iser – "Geschichten aus der Dunkelheit - Horror, Fantasy, Kink." ("Stories from the Darkness - Horror, Fantasy, Kink.")

Markus Heitz: A man who wears black and is a veteran goth, ironic and sarcastic, and always working on his next project. A full-time storyteller, born in 1971. He has written more than 80 books: primarily fantasy, horror, and space fiction. However, he's hopeless at math and as a craftsman. After all, you can't be good at everything.

Jessica Iser, born in 1991 to German-Spanish parents, has been writing fantasy stories since childhood. She is most often found in the darker, more romantic corners of the genre, ranging from dark fantasy to horror. Her debut novel, "Deathbound," was nominated for the 2022 Seraph Fantasy Award in the "Best Independent Title" category. She has published numerous works in anthologies.

14.00 – 15.00

Guided tour and lecture in GERMAN: "Friedhofsgeflüster" mit der Schwarzen Witwe ("Cemetery Whispers" with the Black Widow)

Meeting point: Forecourt of the ceremony hall

"Leichenraub und Leichenfett" ("Grave robbing and body fat")
It becomes apparent that the body was a lucrative business during this journey through time when the history of anatomy and pharmacy is examined more closely.