The Buchen Schützenmarkt is a traditional fun fair for the whole region. It is held in the first week of September and combines the fun fair with a market event.

As in most rural areas, community life in Buchen is mainly organised by local associations. The oldest society in Buchen, the marksmen’s corps, founded in 1822 as a people’s guard, has from the beginning focused on sociability.

The initial marksmen’s shooting event in September has in 1830 turned into the Schützenmarkt, a festival approved by the marksmen’s corps. In 1859 the corps became the Schützengesellschaft (marksmen’s society), which is still hosting the annual Buchen Schützenmarkt in the first week of September.

The festival is one of the biggest local fun fairs and attracts thousands of visitors from all over. Even though today’s festival features many neon coloured rides, stalls, snack bars and fortune games, many traditional customs of the “old” festival have survived.  

The marksmen still march out into the streets of Buchen (accompanied by many local societies) to inaugurate the festival and the still establish a Schützenkönig (king of marksmen) in the middle of the week.