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THE LOCAL LIST

FRANKFURT

Eight fantastic German festivals

With summer here, the choice of festivals across Europe is vast. Germany holds its own in the outdoor party area, with a myriad of options stretching over the year. We have a look at the highlights in our Local List.

Eight fantastic German festivals
Photo: DPA

If rock music is your thing, a festival like Rock am Ring is a must. Featuring internationally renowned artists the weekend is favourite for fans not only across Germany, but the world. While for the electro lovers, getting tickets to free-and-easy Fusion is a top priority.

For the traditionalists, staunch German classics like Oktoberfest and Karneval offer revellers an annual touch of teutonic flavour. Classical music fans, however, might politely bypass these boozy weekends and opt for the Wagner festival in Bayreuth.

But with these, and many more, there’s no shortage of options throughout the entire year. Crack open your calendar and browse our eight fantastic German festivals.

RELATED PHOTO GALLERY: 8 fantastic German festivals

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MUNICH

Four injured as WWII bomb explodes near Munich train station

Four people were injured, one of them seriously, when a World War II bomb exploded at a building site near Munich's main train station on Wednesday, emergency services said.

Smoke rises after the WWII bomb exploded on a building site in Munich.
Smoke rises after the WWII bomb exploded on a building site in Munich. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Privat

Construction workers had been drilling into the ground when the bomb exploded, a spokesman for the fire department said in a statement.

The blast was heard several kilometres away and scattered debris hundreds of metres, according to local media reports.

Images showed a plume of smoke rising directly next to the train tracks.

Bavaria interior minister Joachim Herrmann told Bild that the whole area was being searched.

Deutsche Bahn suspended its services on the affected lines in the afternoon.

Although trains started up again from 3pm, the rail operator said there would still be delays and cancellations to long-distance and local travel in the Munich area until evening. 

According to the fire service, the explosion happened near a bridge that must be passed by all trains travelling to or from the station.

The exact cause of the explosion is unclear, police said. So far, there are no indications of a criminal act.

WWII bombs are common in Germany

Some 75 years after the war, Germany remains littered with unexploded ordnance, often uncovered during construction work.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about WWII bomb disposals in Germany

However, most bombs are defused by experts before they explode.

Last year, seven World War II bombs were found on the future location of Tesla’s first European factory, just outside Berlin.

Sizeable bombs were also defused in Cologne and Dortmund last year.

In 2017, the discovery of a 1.4-tonne bomb in Frankfurt prompted the evacuation of 65,000 people — the largest such operation since the end of the war in Europe in 1945.

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