Orienteering in Germany 🇩🇪

Overview

Germany has a long orienteering tradition, with active clubs, regional leagues and national championships. Although orienteering is less widely practised than in neighbouring Scandinavian countries, Germany has a dedicated community and a varied competition calendar, including forest races, urban sprints and multi-day events.For visiting orienteers, Germany's greatest strengths are its diversity and accessibility. The forests of Saxony, the Harz Mountains and southern Germany offer different navigation challenges, while the country's central European location makes it easy to combine races with visits to neighbouring countries. Historic towns and cultural attractions add plenty of opportunities to turn a competition weekend into a longer holiday.

Official event calendar ↗

Major terrains & landscapes

• Sandstone & rocky forests – Saxony: The Elbe Sandstone Mountains and surrounding forests feature intricate rock formations, steep slopes and narrow passages, creating demanding navigation and complex route choices.• Central German forests – Harz & Thuringia: Mixed woodland, rolling hills, valleys and detailed contour features provide traditional forest orienteering with a combination of physical and technical challenges.• Southern Germany – Bavaria & Baden-Württemberg: Forested hills, limestone landscapes and mountain foothills offer varied terrain, from fast-running woodland to steeper and more physically demanding courses.