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Hessentag in Fulda promises original souvenirs. Tennis socks are in great demand. Read here which merch products are still surprising.
Fulda – There is still some time until the big state festival – but Fulda is already showing how much creativity there is Hesse day stuck. Between stylish souvenirs, regional specialties and original product ideas, the anticipation for the event in the Hessian baroque city is constantly growing. Read what merch is available for Hessentag.
The secret star among the official Hessentag products is a piece of clothing that is currently celebrating its big fashion comeback: the tennis sock. In bright white, with a striking FD design and the “Fulda Socke” lettering in the toe area, it looks quite casual.
Bratwurst to socks: Merch products make you want to go to the state festival
Available in women's and men's sizes for 9.90 euros – and apparently a real bestseller. As Wiebke Till from the Office for Tourism and Marketing Management reports, the socks were in such demand at Galeria's Shopping Night in autumn 2025 that they had to be reordered the next day. Fulda is obviously keen on local patriotism – and warm feet.
In general, the city relies on things for its Hessentag products that don't look like typical disposable items for the festival. The direct Hessentag lettering is deliberately missing from many items, explains the marketing expert. Instead, the colors blue and light green dominate as well as prints such as “Fulda” or “foll Hessian“.
The idea behind it: The products should continue to be used after the party. A real designer piece is the new glass bottle that the city discovered at a trade fair in Frankfurt and which has already won a design award. For 19.90 euros you not only get a sustainable alternative to plastic bottles, but also a pretty stylish piece of city marketing.
The cathedral, Bonifatius, Flora, Paulustor and city palace decorate the bottle in the Hesse Day colors. Practical: It is compatible with a soda maker. Clever thought, after all Fulda has a few drinking fountains to offer, reminds Wiebke Till. Added to this are white sunglasses, which were brought among the people as camels from the Hessentag wagon during the Rose Monday procession.
Fulda “HETAWU” bratwurst with caraway and pepper
They should also be ideal for the upcoming FFH Just White party. There are also fans with a city silhouette and a “foll Hessian” print as well as adhesive tattoos with motifs such as lilies or castle tower caps. Fans in particular have proven their worth several times in Fulda in recent years – they were already a summer hit at the State Garden Show.
“When it’s warm, they’re very popular,” says Till. That's why they decided to offer fans to wave again – also practical at the concerts when things get hot on the cathedral square with Peter Maffay or Roland Kaiser. It's not just the city itself that gets involved with Hessentag merchandise. Regional companies have also come up with a few ideas.
The Wiesenmühle brews its own “Rotbär” ale. And the Schlitzer distillery sends the “Sip home apple” into the race – already tested and approved by the Hessentag couple Vera and Max Dudyka. In “Heimatliebe” there is also schnapps Bags full of regional little things: from lip care to hay gin to fruit spreads, spices and stickers.
If you like, you can also attach the matching pin to your lapel there. “We are already clearly noticing that the demand for Hessentag souvenirs is increasing every day – our regional products such as “A sip of home apple” and the “Hessentag cone” are particularly well received by our customers,” reports Christian Goldbach from Parzeller Verlag.
And then of course there is the “HETAWU”, a Hessentag sausage, developed by the butchers' guildwith recipe from the Gies butcher shop, spices from Fehrmann and rolls from baker Happ. Quite a Fulda joint production – with caraway, pepper and lots of East Hesse local pride.
The Hessentag in Fulda is already showing its creative side with regards to the merch for the state festival. And if even tennis socks are sold out within a very short time, one thing is certain: the city is more than ready for its big festival – in style, sustainable and pretty “folly Hessian”.
