Wild West in Karl May's adopted home of Radebeul until Sunday

This year's Karl May Festival in Radebeul kicks off on Friday evening with line dancing and country music. Until Sunday, the Lößnitzgrund will temporarily become the Wild West. The 31st edition of the traditional spectacle aims to bring May's vision of a timeless humanity independent of location and his fascination for foreign cultures to life through encounters and adventures on the Peace Trail. According to the town hall, around 30,000 visitors are once again expected.

For two days, the entire May world can be explored, from the Orient to the Wild West to gold washing. The program ranges from country music and Navajo dances to a taste of the new adventure play "Shatterhand" by the Landesbühnen Sachsen before the world premiere, talks around the campfire and the star rider parade through the city.

There will also be a reunion with Apache chief Winnetou and Old Shatterhand as well as Kara Ben Nemsi from the Orient, who originated from the author's imagination. Representatives of the White Mountain Apache Tribe from Arizona provide authentic insights into their culture and traditions. And in Little Tombstone, Western clubs recreate the life of settlers in the 19th century - with authentic clothing, bank robberies and gunfights.

The festivities in memory of author Karl May (1842-1912) and his books are an annual tradition after Ascension Day. He lived in Radebeul from 1888 until his death and wrote significant parts of his oeuvre there. A museum commemorates this in his former home Villa Shatterhand, which May bought in 1895, and the Villa Bärenfett, which was built in 1926. It was opened in 1928 by his widow Klara with the collection of his Indian friend Patty Frank, which has been preserved to this day.