Bavarian Climate Week 2026 · Video mapping of the climate stripes by WE ARE VIDEO

Neuschwanstein climate stripes: on the evening of 8 October 2026, the north façade of the fairytale castle in Schwangau became a canvas for climate action in Bavaria. To mark the start of the Bavarian Climate Week, Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber launched our video mapping with a buzzer, bringing Bavaria’s climate stripes to the world-famous castle for the first time. From around 8:30 pm, the projection was visible from afar, free of charge and open to everyone.

Neuschwanstein climate stripes: when and where did the video mapping take place?

• What: Video mapping of the climate stripes onto the north façade of Neuschwanstein Castle
• When: Thursday, 8 October 2026, approx. 8:30 pm to 11:00 pm
• Where to watch: from the surrounding area, especially impressive from Schwangau or from the shore of Lake Forggensee
• Cost: none, the projection was freely accessible
• Realisation: WE ARE VIDEO, studio for interactive light and video art, Munich
• Organiser: Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection (StMUV), as part of the Bavarian Climate Week and the Bavarian Climate Alliance
• The projection was launched by Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber with a buzzer.

Seen from a distance, the projection on the north façade was particularly striking.

What do the climate stripes mean?

The climate stripes (internationally known as “warming stripes”) show global warming at a glance. Each vertical stripe represents the average temperature of one year in Bavaria, from 1881 to 2025. Blue marks years that were cooler than the 1971–2000 reference period, red marks warmer years. The more intense the colour, the greater the deviation.

This makes it easy to see how warm and hot years have become more frequent in Bavaria, especially in recent decades.

What is the Bavarian Climate Week 2026?

The Bavarian Climate Week is an annual initiative of the Bavarian Climate Alliance and the StMUV. From 9 to 18 October 2026, municipalities, businesses, educational institutions, associations and many other participants across Bavaria show how climate protection, climate adaptation and climate education are put into practice.

The video mapping on Neuschwanstein Castle was the official kick-off of the ten days of events. Numerous actions can be found on social media under the hashtags #klimabayern and #ShowYourStripes.

How did the video mapping on Neuschwanstein Castle work?

What made this projection special: it was a true video mapping. Using six projectors, WE ARE VIDEO placed the climate stripes precisely and evenly onto the castle’s façade.

Neuschwanstein Castle has been lit by a permanent, subtle LED system since 2020, and special lighting events are the exception. The last time was the G7 summit in 2015, when the Bavarian State Government had the castle lit in the national colours of the G7 countries as a “Welcome dahoam” greeting to the guests. No projectors were used back then: the colours were projected onto the façade using stencil images.

Who is behind the project? WE ARE VIDEO from Munich

WE ARE VIDEO is a Munich-based creative studio for video mapping, light installations, interactive media art and AI-driven projects, realised for exhibitions, events, theatres and historic buildings. Our projects include light installations at the Frauenkirche in Munich, on Königsplatz and at the Siegestor, as well as in museum settings, for example for Runkelstein Castle in South Tyrol.

With the video mapping on Neuschwanstein Castle, we set a signal that shines far beyond Munich.