Winter CSD Ansbach is on Saturday 7 November 2026, and this year it has a harder edge than the name suggests. The Jugendrat Ansbach, the town's youth council, runs it with Franken Pride e.V. under the motto "Jetzt erst recht!", roughly "now more than ever". Franken Pride's own page still carries the softer line "Vielfalt kennt keine Jahreszeit", diversity knows no season.
Why that motto
The Jugendrat gives its reasons on its website: anti-queer offences are rising, far-right groups are mobilising against queer events, and it names the attack on CSD Berlin on 25 July 2026 as the low point so far. Euronews set out what was known the day after that attack. The council's conclusion is that people should not let counter-protests intimidate them.
The counter-protest
That is a live question in Ansbach. Nationale Jugend, which also calls itself Die jungen Nationaldemokraten, has announced a demonstration against the CSD for the same day and the same hour: 14:00, with its meeting point staffed from 13:00. The group is the youth organisation of the far-right party Die Heimat, formerly the NPD, and registered a counter-demonstration against CSD Bautzen in 2024, where police protected the CSD.
It first named Martin-Luther-Platz, the CSD's own square, and then changed its meeting point to Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Platz, about 300 metres to the east in the old town. Neither organiser's page says how the two gatherings will be kept apart. If you are travelling for the day, check the Jugendrat's and Franken Pride's channels that morning.
How the day runs
The rally opens at 14:00 on Martin-Luther-Platz, and a march through the town centre follows the speeches. Franken Pride had not published the route when this was written on 31 October, and says details of the exact running order and locations will follow.
The party starts at 20:00 in the Speckdrumm hall at Naglerstraße 9, the events space of the Kulturforum Ansbach, about 2 km south-east of the square. Franken Pride also plans a quieter close to the day in a local pub, with room to talk. Its page does not name the pub.
Franken Pride describes Ansbach's 2019 edition as the first winter CSD in Germany. It moved online during the pandemic and came back in 2025, so this is the second November in a row on the street. Expect speeches and a march in the cold, with hot drinks, which the organisers count as part of the format.
Where to go afterwards
We list no venues in Ansbach. The nearest are in Nuremberg, about 40 km to the east: Bar59, Savoy Bar and the Achilleus sauna.
Germany scores 69.54 of 100 on ILGA-Europe's Rainbow Index. Our Germany page has the legal position.
