Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- DB’s Evelyn Palla sets 2035 as goal for completing major reforms within railway company
- Pride events are taking place in several German cities a week after a deadly attack on a Pride march in Berlin
- Authorities warn of holiday traffic disruption in Germany amid the two-hour closure of a key pass road in Austria
- A forest fire is burning out of control in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria, with four firefighters so far injured in the blaze
Here is a round-up of some of the main stories from and about Germany hitting the headlines on the weekend of August 1-2.
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Skip next section Brass musicians wrap up a 72-hour performance in Bavaria08/02/2026August 2, 2026
Brass musicians wrap up a 72-hour performance in Bavaria
Around 1,850 brass musicians finished an unprecedented, 72-hour live performance with a church service In St. Jacob’s church in Nürnberg, Bavaria on Sunday.
The event involved over 140 bands from across the German state, with them swapping roughly every 90 minutes to ensure there are no interruptions longer than 10 seconds.
The record is now to be confirmed by Germany’s Record Institute.
Bavaria’s Premier Markus Söder agreed to act as patron for the event.
In a statement, he conservative politician praised the “enthusiasm” and “passion” displayed by the musicians, and said that music creates “a strong sense of community — not only inside the circle of brass musicians, but also between them and their listeners.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5I9QXSkip next section Kölln cereal recalled due to ‘foreign objects’08/02/2026August 2, 2026
Kölln cereal recalled due to ‘foreign objects’
German cereal producer Kölln is expanding its contamination warning for its cereals with chocolate over fear that “foreign objects” might have gotten into the packages.
“We would like to emphasize that, to date, there has been only one known case in which a hard plastic part from our production process was found in a package. The foreign object was not baked into the product,” they said in a statement online.
The warning now applies to cereal packages of 375 grams with batch numbers L6165, L6164 and L6235. The packages are also marked with “best before” dates of 17.04.2027, 16.04.2027 and 05.06.2027.
Kölln urged customers to return their product to supermarkets, promising a full refund regardless of having a receipt.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I9QCSkip next section Deutsche Bahn chief Evelyn Palla blasts ‘organized irresponsibility’ in the company08/02/2026August 2, 2026
Deutsche Bahn chief Evelyn Palla blasts ‘organized irresponsibility’ in the company
The culture inside Germany’s Deutsche Bahn (DB) is already shifting but the current crisis will take years to overcome, the head of the national railway company told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag.
CEO Evelyn Palla criticized the old decision-making process in DB, saying that the central management often made big decisions on the operative level.
“The people in the headquarters, who made those decisions, don’t have any responsibility for implementing them in the field,” Palla said. “They have to be implemented by colleagues who are out there. But they say ‘I didn’t make this call, and it also doesn’t work for me.’ Then the headquarters says ‘I have no operational responsibility, those people in the field did not implement [the decision] properly.’ In the end it was something like organized irresponsibility.”
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She told the paper that much has been “reformed” and “slimmed down” since she took the reins of the state-owned firm last October, and that multiple administration levels inside DB had been cut.
“But all of that does not make for a better (Deutsche) Bahn,” she added. “Things will only change when the management changes, when decentralized units take responsibility and live with it.”
In the interview published on Sunday, she also said that the German railway network was “run into the ground by 25 years of saving money” and that tangible improvements will take time.
She pointed to DB’s 200-year anniversary coming in 2035, saying that “this should be the year when the worst is behind us.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5I9BZSkip next section We are resuming our coverage08/02/2026August 2, 2026
We are resuming our coverage
Welcome back to our coverage of top news stories from Germany on this early August weekend.
On Sunday, Berlin is preparing for an anti-Islamist march in response to the deadly terror attack which shook Germany to the core a week ago.
In Bavaria, over1,800 brass musicians are hoping to break the record for the world’s longest concert as they near the end of the unprecedented 72-hour live performance.
And Evelyn Palla, the head of Germany Deutsche Bahn, is decrying “organized irresponsibility” inside the troubled railway company.
We will be bringing you more on these and other stories from Germany in this live blog.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I9AzSkip next section We’ve paused coverage08/02/2026August 2, 2026
We’ve paused coverage
Thank you for reading the weekend edition of our blog about Germany and be sure to check in on Sunday morning to stay up to date with the latest headlines out of the country.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I8pzSkip next section WATCH — Hamburg Pride draws 300,000 after Berlin terror attack 08/01/2026August 1, 2026
WATCH — Hamburg Pride draws 300,000 after Berlin terror attack
Hamburg’s Pride parade went ahead under heightened security, one week after a 21-year-old drove a van into crowds at Berlin Pride. The attack killed one person and injured 29 others.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5I8VuSkip next section IN DEPTH: Germany widens deportations to Afghanistan08/01/2026August 1, 2026
IN DEPTH: Germany widens deportations to Afghanistan
Earlier this week, Germany for the first time deported a man with no criminal record to Kabul.
This set a precedent that sparked vociferous protests: 260 people heeded the call of an anti-racism alliance and came to demonstrate inside the airport’s departure hall, accompanied by a police escort.
Read more about Germany’s policy on deportations to Afghanistan.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I8HdSkip next section Klingbeil urges for solidarity with Spain over Ceuta border breach08/01/2026August 1, 2026
Klingbeil urges for solidarity with Spain over Ceuta border breach
German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil on Saturday called on Europeans to stand by Spain amid the debate over the surge of migrants into Ceuta.
Footage showing tens of thousands of migrants crossing into Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta raised concerns across the European Union.
“Migrants were used in an attempt to divide Europe,” Klingbeil said.
He noted that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had restored control quickly and that most migrants who entered Ceuta had already returned to Morocco.
“Especially in situations like these, Europe must not allow itself to be divided,” Klingbeil said.
Klingbeil’s comments come after Italy officially suspended the Schengen agreement with Spain for one month in response to the mass crossing in Ceuta.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I8OzSkip next section Popular German national park closed after storm leaves 1 dead08/01/2026August 1, 2026
Popular German national park closed after storm leaves 1 dead
A popular park in eastern Germany was closed to visitors on Saturday after a storm caused damage and left one person dead overnight.
A 38-year-old man was killed on Friday evening near the Felsenbühne open-air theater in Rathen when he was struck by a falling tree.
Ten other people were injured, three of them seriously, while 40 people were evacuated.
Emergency crews resumed clean-up operations on Saturday.
Authorities closed the area between the Bastei rock formation, the villages of Rathen and Hohnstein, and the Polenztal valley, citing ongoing safety risks for visitors.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I8HZSkip next section IN DEPTH: Germany weighs the future of minijobs08/01/2026August 1, 2026
IN DEPTH: Germany weighs the future of minijobs
Dasha Thyssen
When Anahita Abdollahi starts her shift, she first checks her emails to make sure she’s up to date on all the library requests.
The 26-year-old master’s student from Iran describes her job as a “part-time librarian” — she helps people find books they need for their studies, answers phone calls, and waters the plants.
This type of employment is known in Germany as a “minijob,” a system that allows millions of workers, including students, to avoid paying income tax or social security contributions.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I8DnSkip next section WATCH: German development aid: Is soft power in decline?08/01/2026August 1, 2026
WATCH: German development aid: Is soft power in decline?
German funding for projects abroad is falling. So is public support.
Nearly 8 in ten Germans say they are proud of supporting poorer countries. But only around 2 in ten say they understand what German development aid is actually trying to achieve.
In Argentina, young musicians show what that money can achieve.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I8DpSkip next section Hamburg Pride returns with increased security a week after Berlin attack08/01/2026August 1, 2026
Hamburg Pride returns with increased security a week after Berlin attack
Saim Dušan Inayatullah Editor
Hundreds of thousands of people on Saturday gathered in the northern German port city of Hamburg for its annual Pride parade, one of Germany’s biggest, one week after a deadly Islamist terrorist attack on Berlin Pride.
Among dozens of trucks marching through the center of Germany’s second-biggest city was one representing Berlin’s Pride event — known in Germany as Christopher Street Day or CSD for short.
Participants on the truck were asked to wear dark clothing in tribute to the victims of last week’s attack.
“After the brutal attack on the CSD in Berlin, many are unsure in the queer community but also in society whether here and today is the right place,” Hamburg’s deputy mayor, Katharina Fegebank, told RTL television. “I say, now more than ever.”
Both police and march organizers said the turnout was about 300,000 people.
Pride events also took place in Bonn and other cities across Germany.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I8DZSkip next section Rhine River hits record low in North Rhine-Westphalia08/01/2026August 1, 2026
Rhine River hits record low in North Rhine-Westphalia
The river Rhine, one of the most important waterways in Germany, reached a historic low in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday, authorities said.
Just 68 cm (26.77 inches) were measured at the gauge point in the city of Cologne, one centimeter below the previous record low of October 23, 2018.
The mean level at the gauge point ranges from 297 cm to 348 cm.
Gauge readings do not give the river’s actual depth but rather the height of water above a given baseline. The shipping industry uses them to calculate what weights vessels using the waterway can carry.
The sinking water level comes as Germany, along with other parts of Europe, experiences low rainfall coupled with bouts of high summer temperatures that scientists say are a result of human-induced climate change.
The Rhine is an important route for commercial shipping and is used to transport commodities such as grains, minerals, ores, coal and oil products.
A drought in 2022 that reduced water levels in the river caused supply bottlenecks and production problems affecting several companies.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5I7dSSkip next section Forest fire breaks out in Bavaria08/01/2026August 1, 2026
Forest fire breaks out in Bavaria
Some 330 emergency personnel have been deployed to fight a forest fire that broke out on Friday near Freudenberg in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria.
The fire is burning out of control in difficult terrain amid strong winds, local authorities said, with a thunderstorm hampering firefighting operations.
Four firefighters have been injured while battling the flames, local authorities said on Saturday.
People have been warned to avoid the area, while authorities have advised residents to keep windows and doors closed, turn off air conditioning and ventilation systems and follow local radio for further information.
Europe as a whole has seen several major blazes so far this seasonas human-induced climate change increasingly produces conditions conducive to their ignition.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I7GjSkip next section Train punctuality still ‘not good’ in first half of 2026 — DB head 08/01/2026August 1, 2026
Train punctuality still ‘not good’ in first half of 2026 — DB head
Just 58.7% of Germany’s long-distance trains arrived on time at their destination in the first half of the year, with the head of national rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) conceding that there was much room for improvement.
“That is not a good figure. There’s no point trying to gloss over it,” Evelyn Palla told the Sunday edition of the Welt newspaper.
However, Palla, who took over as head of DB in October 2025, said the delay was less than 15 minutes in three-quarters of the cases.
“Even though we are not yet satisfied overall, we should not make Deutsche Bahn out to be worse than it is,” she said.
DB considers a long-distance train delayed if it arrives at least six minutes late, with canceled trains included in the company’s operational punctuality statistics.
Palla had set a punctuality target of at least 60% for this year and has worked to streamline the company by cutting several management positions, among other things.
DB has also begun to overhaul key lines as it seeks to improve its services, which have long been the object of criticism from those who rely on them.
https://p.dw.com/p/5I7OxShow more posts
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