Schueberfouer, the August funfair a blind king founded in 1340

The Schueberfouer, or just the Fouer to locals, is the capital’s big date of the year. Three weeks of rides, food stalls and late nights on the Glacis, right as summer winds down. What sets it apart from any other funfair I know is its paperwork, a founding charter from 1340. Here are the dates, the history and my tips for getting the best from it.

Dates for 2027 and 2028

The 2027 edition opens on Friday 20 August and closes on Wednesday 8 September, on the Champ du Glacis. It runs every day from 12:00 to 01:00, and food and drink stalls may open an hour earlier. The Ville de Luxembourg, which organises it every year, has already published 2028 as well, 23 August to 11 September.

It’s a proper fair. It covers four hectares right in the city, and the tourist office bills it as the biggest annual funfair in the country and the wider Greater Region, drawing millions of visitors. I haven’t found published ride prices, and each attraction sets its own. The tourist office describes the fair as accessible to all, and points to a page with the access details.

Where does the Schueberfouer come from?

From 1340. It was John the Blind, ruler of Luxembourg and Bohemia, who founded an eight-day fair around the feast of St Bartholomew on 24 August, to turn the city into a trading stop between Flanders and Italy. Curiously, he’s the same king whose crest and “Ich dien” motto the Black Prince is said to have adopted after Crécy. The charter survives and is on show at the Lëtzebuerg City Museum, which is how I’d start the day before heading to the fair.

The market began on the Plateau du Saint-Esprit, quickly outgrew it and moved to Limpertsberg. In the 18th century it added concerts, dances and games of skill, the first rides turned up in 1849, and in 1893, as Limpertsberg was being built up, it moved to the Glacis and never left. It even has its own mascot, a sheep called Lämmy, created by the cartoonist Emile Schlesser, better known as Milli.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Luxemburgo before prices climb.

What’s at the fair

Rides, games and a great deal of food. If one thing sums up the Fouer it’s Gromperekichelcher, the crispy potato fritters Visit Luxembourg names as the thing everyone goes to eat. The city describes the whole affair as a mix of tradition, food and thrills, which is about right.

For me the appeal is the atmosphere. This isn’t a fair put on for tourists, it’s the locals’ fair, and it draws people from all over the Greater Region too. If you don’t like crowds, I’d go on a weekday evening, though no official figures say which days are quieter.

The last day, half price and fireworks

If you can fit your trip around it, closing day is the one. Before 20:00 the rides are half price, and two hours later the fireworks light up the Alzette valley from the Red Bridge, which leads across to Kirchberg. In 2027 that’s Wednesday 8 September.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Luxemburgo before prices climb.

Getting there and where to stay

The Glacis is in Limpertsberg, a short walk from the old town. Outside fair season the Glacis is a car park, so don’t plan on parking there during the fair. Buses and trams are free across the country, and the night bus covers Friday and Saturday nights until 03:30.

The fair straddles two months I cover in Luxembourg in August and Luxembourg in September, with the weather and the other festivals on at the time. For a few days, I’d stay in the centre and split my evenings between the Fouer and a trip out to the Moselle, whose wine festivals run through the same weeks.

Is it worth a special trip?

That depends on you. If you like a fair, few can show you a founding charter from 1340, and the scale is surprising for such a small city. If not, I wouldn’t build a holiday around it, but I’d certainly fit it in if I were in the capital in late August. Out of season, the Glacis has another life on the third Sunday of each month from March to November, August excepted, when the Glacismaart fills it with flowers, fruit, local produce and clothes from 10:00 to 17:00.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Luxemburgo and choose by the reviews.

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So you do not pay over the odds, look at trains, coaches and flights to Luxembourg on Omio and pick the one that suits you.