I watch the new episode of House of the Dragon every week, but Rhaenyra Targaryen and her reign just can’t seem to get going. For more knight content in my life, I recently watched the Kaltenberg Knights’ Tournament. And this year, it was also about a black queen and the succession – but this time in Bavaria!
I can’t say when it started for me, but knights, horses, sword fights, and of course dragons are some of my all-time favorite things. Maybe it’s the Playmobil knight castle from back in the day that’s to blame. Currently, I’m getting my weekly dose from House of the Dragon. Unfortunately, Rhaenyra isn’t really making progress in winning her war.
So, I treated myself to an evening at the Kaltenberg Knights’ Tournament with two similarly enthusiastic friends. Overall, the outing was truly excellent: the food was delicious, the mead was nice and cool despite the warm weather, and the atmosphere was a lovely crossover between medieval and fantasy markets. The tournament itself had brilliant stunts and great horsemanship. However, the story was a bit too slapstick at times and didn’t make sense in certain spots – especially since it was about the future of my home state of Bavaria! I still had a hell of a lot of fun.
What is the Kaltenberg Knights’ Tournament?
The Kaltenberg Knights’ Tournament is an event that has been taking place since 1980 on the grounds of Kaltenberg Castle in the Bavarian district of Landsberg am Lech. The original idea came from Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, who was inspired by a historical battle in the moat of the Tower of London. In 2013, his son Heinrich took over the business.
The tournament takes place annually over four weekends during the summer months. There are several stages on the grounds featuring entertainment, workshops on medieval life, market stalls, food, and drinks. In addition to the grand parade, the two-hour tournament is the highlight of the event, featuring sword fights and equestrian stunts.
A black queen with a high body count & epic stunts
The highlight of the entire Friday evening was the namesake Kaltenberg Knights’ Tournament. For two hours, the participants really go at it with sword and shield. But the best entertainment comes from the horseback stunts.
Sometimes the knights hang onto the sides of their horses, other times they stand on the saddle at full gallop. But the coolest part was the actual tournament at the end of the show: armed with lance and shield, the participants charge at each other and skillfully knock each other out of the saddle.
One thing is that the riders do not (unintentionally) fall from their saddles. The other is that the horses gallop with incredible precision and focus. I have often wondered if they might run into the barrier or the waiting helpers at the end of the arena. But I can report that, at least from the audience’s perspective, there were no accidents or mishaps, and no one shed any real blood.
Of course, the sword action on foot is also not to be overlooked: the main actors all put on brilliant show fights and, when necessary, died quite epically.
Visually, the tournament was an absolutely epic spectacle. That’s what I wish for from series like House of the Dragon or A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms – epic action. Even though I know that the setup episodes are important for the overall plot.
But speaking of plot: the storyline of this tournament was a bit convoluted. The rough storyline went like this:
Queen Magdalene of Bavaria, dressed entirely in black, wants to rule alone. To do this, she pushes her own husband, the king, and the beloved princess of her most loyal knight off the balcony. Many years later, the son of the knight and the princess – named Albrecht – grows up and allows himself to be knighted by the queen.
However, during his first assignment, to collect taxes in a peasant village, Albrecht has a rude awakening: Magdalene is not a particularly good ruler, and his father, the black knight, is the most hated man in the land. Together with the knight princess from the northern realm, he allies himself against Magdalene, and they announce a tournament that will determine the future of the kingdom.
So far, so good.
But as a story connoisseur, I noticed countless inconsistencies: first five realms were mentioned, but then there were only four. France is doing its own thing, but somehow remains relevant – French princess and so on. It also seems as if Magdalene has adopted Albrecht because at the end he receives the royal crown even though he isn’t related to her.
I ultimately decided not to think too much about the lore behind this year’s plot. I commend House of the Dragon for having clearer family relations and geography for us viewers.
But the story is not really what the Kaltenberg Knights’ Tournament is about. Instead, it’s about the cool stunts, the horses, the sword fights, and of course the lance action in the grand finale of the conflict of the realms. And they succeeded excellently. Moreover, it’s something entirely different to sit in an arena and watch knights lance jousting live than to see it against dragons on television.
Delicious, educational & cheerful – Kaltenberg is more than just a tournament
In addition to the tournament, there is a large medieval and fantasy market as well as several stages with bands and show acts. In fact, we didn’t get to see much of the performers outside of the tournament due to time constraints.
However, we took a closer look at the market stalls: there were stalls with leather-bound notebooks, jewelry, medieval clothing, and of course swords. Additionally, we assessed the various food stands – from spinach dumplings, to potato noodles with sauerkraut, to cheese spaetzle, everything was available.
There was also everything in terms of drinks: juices, beer, wine, and of course mead. We tried a rosé Federweißer, a young wine with rose flavor. I wasn’t a big fan, but one of my companions was quite impressed by it.
My other companion particularly enjoyed the reenactment performances: there are several permanently installed houses on the grounds depicting various periods of the Middle Ages. This is fascinating because you can see how people’s living conditions changed over the centuries. Additionally, there were always people in corresponding costumes in these houses who demonstrated a craft and could tell a lot about the current location.
But even if you don’t want to focus on a stall, there’s always a lot to see. A large portion of the visitors are dressed in more or less elaborate costumes. The performers hired for Kaltenberg sometimes wander the grounds in full plate armor.
Overall, the Kaltenberg Knights’ Tournament offers an exciting mix of entertaining and educational content.
For all ages at a proud price
The event also seems to be very child-friendly. Especially the tournament is designed with younger spectators in mind, focusing more on excitement, effects, and entertainment – not on bloody action. We didn’t bring any junior knights with us, but we certainly noticed the large number of children of all ages present.
This visit was my first in 20 years. At 13, I already found Kaltenberg incredibly exciting. Now at almost 33, I’m still just as enchanted. I’m not sure if I need to see the tournament in the arena again – it was very great, but it also costs money:
For the Friday night with a good arena seat, we paid nearly 70 euros per ticket. Standing places at the upper edge of the arena are available from 34.90 euros. Children’s tickets are also 30% off on Sundays. For the last tournament weekend in 2026, from July 24 to 26, there are still tickets available through the official ticket shop.
If the timing works out, I’ll happily return to Kaltenberg in 2027 as well. But probably without the tournament. I’m also particularly glad that the knights’ tournament takes place every year. That’s very different from my last event, which for the time being was a one-time deal: Critical Role in Berlin was so good that even D&D noobs could really have fun
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