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Kocherlbälle in Bavaria

A festival finds imitators

The original at the Chinese Tower, and its relations in Bad Tölz, Abensberg and Osterhofen.

The original

Munich, Chinese Tower

When a Bavarian says ‘Kocherlball’, it is almost always the Munich one: the servants' festival in the English Garden, every third Sunday in July from six. It is the original, and the others measure themselves against it.

Good ideas do not stay at home. Several Bavarian towns have taken up the early dance for themselves, in one place at the Kurhaus, in another at the fair, in a third in the town park.

The relations

Where else Bavaria dances early

Bad TölzKurhaus

Revived in 2014 for the Kurhaus's 100th birthday: dancing from six in the morning, with a dance master, a band, the Münchner Française and white sausages until the close at ten.

AbensbergGillamoos

Part of the Gillamoos, one of the oldest fairs in Bavaria. The dancing is on the Gillamoos Monday, in 2026 for the eighth time, on 7 September.

OsterhofenStadtpark

Osterhofen, in Lower Bavaria, dances in the town park and held its Kocherlball for the eleventh time in 2023.

The dates of the other balls change from year to year. The organisers have the binding details: the Kurhaus in Bad Tölz, the town of Abensberg, the town of Osterhofen. We merely keep the overview.

In context

A custom that multiplies

A festival banned in 1904 is putting out offshoots a good hundred years later. That speaks for a custom that is celebrated rather than put on display: early, outdoors, with brass music and no entry fee. Munich set the form, and the other towns fill it in their own voice.

Questions

In brief

Is the Kocherlball only held in Munich?
No. The Munich ball at the Chinese Tower is the original and by far the largest, but people now dance into the morning in Bad Tölz, Abensberg and Osterhofen too.
How do the other Kocherlbälle differ from Munich's?
Mainly in size and origin. The Munich ball goes back to the servants' festival of the 19th century; the younger balls borrow the idea and the form, usually with a local band, someone to lead the dances and a Frühschoppen.
When do the other Kocherlbälle take place?
Each town sets its own date, usually in summer. Abensberg dances during the Gillamoos in early September. The organisers' announcements are binding.

Evidence

Sources

  1. Kurhaus Bad Tölz: Kocherlball (kurhaus-badtoelz.com).
  2. Oberland.de, 18.06.2017: Tanz in den Morgen.
  3. Stadt Abensberg, Veranstaltungskalender: 8. Abensberger Gillamoos-Kocherlball.
  4. Dahoam in Niederbayern, Veranstaltungsportal: Osterhofener Kocherlball.
Retrieved on 7 October 2026. The sources are in German. They document the facts given on this page; the bodies named remain the authority.

The original dances on the third Sunday in July

At the Chinese Tower, from six in the morning.

See the Munich date