Ready for Wave-Gotik-Treffen

This weekend German streets will be darker than other days

Another busy morning in Leipzig, trying to go to work and stuck in traffic but I have noticed something different on the Leipzig streets today. A guy walking on the sidewalk is wearing shiny black high platform long boots, leather pants with chains everywhere and a black leather jacket. I was thinking it’s an interesting outfit for a morning walk then I saw two girls behind him, both wearing leather miniskirts, high platform boots with buckles and leather jackets. While I am watching these uniquely dressed people, the traffic lights change to green.

The car behind me honks to warn me to move. Hearing this, I accelerate. I move a little bit, but then stop again next to the crosswalk. I was still thinking about the girls when four Viking Warriors started to cross the road.

This people must be from a movie set nearby.

I was then shocked seeing a couple who were crossing the road. The girl had kitten ears and a kitten tail with a collar held by a big fat guy with green hair and a long leather jacket. Was I dreaming, or are these people with alternative outfits real?

Acutally, no. If you live in Leipzig or visit Leipzig this week seeing these sights on the streets means the Wave-Gotik-Treffen Festival has begun.

What is Wave-Gotik-Treffen?

Wave Gotik means “Dark Wave” and Gothic music from 80’s and 90’s and Treffen means “meeting” in German.

The group of people who love Dark Wave and Gothic music met the first time in Potsdam (17 miles southwest of Berlin) in 1987. It was not officially advertised, but word of mouth brought hundreds of people to Potsdam. It was more than expected, but Germany was not same in 1987 as it is now. These kinds of events were illegal in the German democratic Republic. Unfortunately, the event was broken up by the German police, and some people even went to prison.

Wave Gotik Treffen officially come back in 1992 after East and West Berlin were reunited. The Eiskeller club in Leipzig was the new location. The club was extremely restrictive about people and their dress code, although more people were turning up every year. The festival grew every year and in the late 90’s, it was very similar to today. The festival has different locations around the city Leipzig and twenty-five thousand people attend every year.

The first Wave Gotik Treffen festival was about Gothic and dark music but now every kind of alternative people (Gothic, Victorian, Cyber, Fetish, etc.) attend the event.

The main activity of Wave-Gotik Treffen is the band performances. More than 100 bands are playing music during the festival. They play dark music, deathrock, dark electro, EBM, Symphonic metal, Gothic Methal, Industrial and more.

The festival is not only music bands, it also has Renaissance fairs, Vikings and Pagan markets, Gothic Romance events, CD/DVD and film premiers, BDSM and Fetish events, and dance clubs. It is the largest Gothic Festival in the world.

You can find more information about the festival from Wave-Gotik-Treffen official page.