CSD Mainz – Sommerschwüle

CSD Mainz is the city's Christopher Street Day, and Sommerschwüle is the name of the queer summer programme that leads up to it. The name dates back to 1993, when a political summer party at the old Ziegelei brickworks in Bretzenheim marked the start of an organised queer movement in Mainz. The volunteer association Schwuguntia e.V. still runs the whole thing and kept the old name on purpose.

The programme runs for several weeks before the march, with workshops, city tours, readings, drag nights and church services. The weekend itself has three parts: a drag show on Friday at Altes Postlager (organisers say it has drawn more than 500 people in recent years), the demonstration on Saturday afternoon from the Fischtor through the old town, then a street festival with stages and info stands on the Malakoff-Terrassen by the Rhine, and a Post Pride clubbing night back at Altes Postlager.

In 2026 Sommerschwüle ran from 2 June to 26 July, with the march on Saturday 25 July. Mainz is across the Rhine from Wiesbaden and a short train ride from Frankfurt, whose CSD was held the weekend before in 2026. The 2027 dates hadn't been announced when we checked; the organisers say they are still working out plans for 2027.