CoSy Festival 2026

At night the palace façade becomes a canvas you help shape, and anyone heading out to dance ends up in a discussion along the way.

• Sauna garden and cushion rooms
• By bike along the Elbe Cycle Route
• Awareness team in purple

CoSy stands for Contrasts in Symbiosis, and that is exactly what happens here: from Friday to Monday, a palace that was never finished, in an Elbe village of 260 people near Magdeburg, becomes a rave and an art museum at once. Electronic music plays in the main hall, in side rooms and in the courtyards, a media installation waits in the cellar, sculptures glow at night, and the grounds drop in terraces down to a lake. It feels more like a house party in a museum than a festival site: small, warm-hearted, young and old, village and the wider world, not always smooth – and many want to come back.

The palace carries a heavy history: in the Nazi era it held an early, unofficial (“wild”) concentration camp. CoSy does not stay silent about it, shows an exhibition on the early camps and sees itself as a statement for culture in the countryside – with pushback from the political right.

At a glance

Beyond the concerts — A world of its own · 3 of 3

Exhibition, workshops, yoga, sauna, book talks; guests make use of them. As of 2026

Check first

• 18+ only, no dogs, and photos and videos are off-limits on the dance floor. Cars park just under five kilometres away, with a shuttle from there; at food and drink stalls you pay with a chip that you top up with cash or card. Bring some cash for the shuttle and massages.

Right for you

• For crews who want to dance and are happy to get sidetracked: by screen printing, by yoga in the yurt, by a book talk or by the tent neighbour you get chatting with while pitching up.

What is FIPS?

CoSy Festival: 205 acts, 7 Aug 2026 – 10 Aug 2026, Schloss Dornburg an der Elbe.

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