All year round, time-honoured traditions are observed with great passion in Oberstaufen. The events calendar boasts an array of folk festivals and religious celebrations, with long-established customs and ceremonies that date back to pre-Christian times. Nowhere else is a town's cultural and historical heritage brought to life with such a diverse range of festivities and colourful events. Highlights include the Oberstaufen Shrove Tuesday festival, the cattle drive and the "Kulturtupfer" arts and culture festival.The Oberstaufen Shrove Tuesday festival
Carnival is celebrated all over Germany and reaches its highpoint on Shrove Tuesday. Oberstaufen marks this occasion with the Fasnatziestag or Shrove Tuesday festival, a traditional event which goes back 350 years. Flags and traditional German costumes are everywhere to be seen. You'll recognise these costumes by the lush, meadow greens that reflect the colours of this verdant countryside – green braces and hats, or green aprons worn over bright-red and soft-grey bodices. There is a historical parade accompanied by a brass band and a drum corps, while a ceremony and a torchlight parade are also an important part of the day's festivities. Oberstaufen cattle drive
Without doubt the best-known of all the Allgäu customs, the cattle drive is celebrated by dressing up some of the cows as well as staging traditional festivals. When autumn arrives with its kaleidoscope of colours, it is time to bring the cattle back down to the villages from the mountain pastures. Every year on the second Friday in September more than a thousand spectators cheer on the happy homecoming of these animals with the farmers and the shepherds. Kulturtupfer festival
Every autumn Oberstaufen stages a festival that's great for all ages. For once it's not the spectacular scenery that is the main attraction – with a programme centered around classical music, cabaret and jazz, the arts and culture festival known as the "Kulturtupfer" offers a diverse mix of concerts and events.