Festival · April and late September
Dippemess (Frankfurt's traditional pottery fair and funfair)
The Dippemess goes back to the 14th century, when potters hauled stoneware to Frankfurt on their backs. Today it is the city's biggest funfair, three weeks in April and one more week in late September.
Every German city has its folk festivals, and Frankfurt's oldest and largest is the Dippemess. In the 14th century it was called the Maamess, a market where potters from the Westerwald, the Kannenbäckerland and Urberach sold ceramic tableware. Frankfurters call that stoneware Dippe or Dippche, which is where the modern name comes from. The potters carried their goods to the city in baskets on their backs, and local housewives came to replace broken dishes and catch up on gossip.
The market outgrew the Römerberg over the centuries and moved in the 1960s to the Festplatz am Ratsweg, below the Bornheimer Hang. The larger spring edition runs three weeks in April at the Ratsweg fairground. The smaller fall edition takes place at the end of September in front of the ice rink near the Ostpark.
What you get today is a full funfair: a ghost train, bumper cars, a roller coaster, a chain carousel and a Ferris wheel that is worth the ticket for the overview alone. Where Munich's Oktoberfest has beer tents, the Dippemess has tents pouring Äbbelwoi, Frankfurt's tart apple wine, which is the local answer to beer. Around them sit raffle booths, shooting galleries, children's rides and stands selling candied almonds and cotton candy.
The trading side has shrunk, and locals grumble about it. Only one vendor still sells stoneware exclusively, with Bembel jugs, bowls, plates, name mugs and butter dishes in the classic gray and blue. About 14 traders remain overall, now selling handmade jewelry, soaps and leather goods alongside plush toys and phone cases aimed at a younger crowd.
Practical notes. Opening hours are 2pm to 11pm Monday through Thursday, noon to midnight Friday and Saturday, and noon to 11pm on Sunday. If the spring run covers the Easter holidays, the fair stays closed on Good Friday. It opens officially at 6pm with a ceremonial keg tapping, even though the rides start turning at midday, and each run ends with fireworks on the final Sunday. Ride the Ferris wheel during the fireworks if you can.
Do not drive. There is no parking at the fairground. Take the U7 subway toward Hausen or Enkheim to the Eissporthalle/Festplatz stop, or tram line 12, or bus 38 or 103, all of which drop you next to the roller coaster and the Ferris wheel. Service runs until midnight, which covers the whole evening.
