Review: 777 years of Neustadt-Glewe & 47th "Neustadt in Europe" meeting from September 12 to 14, 2025

Our city proudly celebrated its 777th anniversary in 2025. This anniversary was a reason to celebrate in style. And we invited the other Neustadt towns in Europe to join us in the celebrations and held the annual "Neustadt in Europe" meeting during the festival weekend from September 12 to 14, 2025.

The town of Neustadt-Glewe was first mentioned in a document in 1248 as Nova Civitas. With the addition of "Civitas," it was granted city rights and proudly celebrated its 777th anniversary in 2025. Many citizens of Neustadt-Glewe took part in and helped organize the city's anniversary celebrations. Houses, buildings, and company premises were colorfully decorated with pennants and balloons. It was a great pleasure to drive through our city.

For the anniversary, 777 guests from 28 cities, municipalities, and districts with the name "Neustadt" from a total of six Central European countries traveled to Neustadt-Glewe. Delegations from Romania, Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, as well as Germany, of course, came to Neustadt-Glewe for the Neustadt meeting.

As was the case two years ago, the highlight of the city's anniversary celebrations was the grand parade. It was a logistical masterpiece, as this time there were even more participants than at the 775th anniversary celebrations. Numerous clubs, companies, private individuals, daycare centers, and schools took part and designed their parade floats in a very original and creative way. The parade showcased the history of our city and its great diversity.  In addition, there were delegations from "Neustadt in Europe." The result was a colorful mix that visitors could marvel at from the side of the road. They came with camping chairs & picnic baskets and made themselves comfortable on the side of the road to watch the grand parade pass by. Music, singing, and fun echoed from the parade floats. Candy, sweets, and even small shots of schnapps were distributed to visitors. Once they arrived at the castle, the celebration continued for the city's 777th anniversary. Many thanks to everyone who participated in the parade for this great experience and, above all, for this sense of togetherness.

This feeling of "We belong together – we celebrate together" could be felt and perceived throughout the entire weekend at the festival grounds.

The highlight on Friday evening was the magnificent laser show, which took place under the motto "Neustadt in Europe & 777 years of Neustadt-Glewe." A logo was created especially for this event. Ostseewelle accompanied the city anniversary on Friday and Saturday evening with its party program. The huge festival tent, which was open to everyone free of charge, was completely filled to capacity on Saturday evening. The party band "Coverpiraten" really got the party going that evening. People sang, danced on the tables, and celebrated extensively. On Saturday evening, the Neustadt shooting club organized a fantastic fireworks display together with the Neustadt fire department. A big thank you goes to the many cultural contributors: - Neustadt-Dosse. The dance group "Die coolen Kids" (The Cool Kids) were more than cool for Neustadt-Glewe and put on a lively performance.
-    Neustadt-Glewe. The after-school care children presented an impressive musical journey through Europe in a very professional manner.
-    Neustadt-Glewe. The line dancers "Angel Wings" provided a grand finale on Sunday. The audience swayed, clapped, and danced along energetically.
-    Neustadt an der Donau in Austria. The Schuhplatteln boys not only attracted everyone's attention visually, they also put on a great show with their lederhosen, clapping, yodeling, and kicking their feet in the air, captivating everyone.
-    Bad Neustadt an der Saale. The jazz band "Generations" took to the stage and thrilled the entire audience with a mix of jazz standards and jazz evergreens.
-    Nové Mesto na Morave from Czechia. The student brass orchestra "Z-USáci" really blew everyone away. Many people didn't realize that brass instruments could create such an incredible atmosphere. It was great what the students achieved here. A big thank you also goes to the CDU Neustadt-Glewe. They covered the entire catering costs for the 32 band members from Czechia for the whole weekend.
-    European Mile on the castle forecourt with the participation of several Neustadt delegations.

Throughout the weekend, fairground rides on the castle lawn provided further entertainment. In addition, there was a European Mile on the castle forecourt, where several European Neustadt delegations presented highlights from their regions. In the inner courtyard, the Neustadt Castle Association organized a small medieval camp with crafts, a campfire, a program, and music performed by the folk band "Hinterhof." Our Neustadt delegations in particular felt very welcome and well looked after here. Thank you for this incredibly wonderful festival weekend. The town of Neustadt-Glewe is proud to be a member of the largest town twinning association in Europe and to be able to contribute to the exchange of culture and traditions and to the formation of friendships across town and country borders.

A big thank you goes to everyone involved in making our 777th anniversary celebration an unforgettable experience: Music-Eggert, all the participating Neustadt associations & companies, the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Neustadt-Glewe, the Neustadt-Glewe Air Sports Club, the Neustadt-Glewe Photo Club, the Castle Museum and Art Gallery of Neustadt-Glewe, the city administration staff, the building yard, the service providers for security, order & cleanliness, medical services, and all helpers in front of and behind the scenes. Special thanks go to the local history and culture association and the Neustadt-Glewe Castle Association.

The 48th "Neustadt in Europe" meeting will take place in Bergneustadt from May 14-17, 2026.

City of Neustadt-Glewe