Germany's Ragnarök Festival, probably the world's most important pagan metal festival, is entering the seventh round. And a lot has changed since the last year. For one the location has moved 130 km southeast, from Lichtenfels to the considerably bigger Ostbayernhalle (East Bavaria Hall) in Rieden/Kreuth, 70 km east of Nuremberg and just as far away from the Czech border. Furthermore the festival has turned from a two day thing into a three day event. And the introduction of a new twin stage means that one part of the stage can be prepared for a performance while there's still a band playing on the other half, reducing the intermissions to a minimum and - hopefully - abolishing the running order shifts of the previous editions.

Some things however have not changed. The lineup still excels through its high quality: fans of Viking and pagan metal will be pleased with the confirmation of Ensiferum, Equilibrium and Arkona while black metal aficionados are in for a treat with headliners Gorgoroth, Nocturno Culto project Sarke, Ragnarok and Belphegor. Medieval folk with Nachtgeschrei and Ingrimm, ethereal vocals with Haggard and Midnattsol and eclectic metal with Sólstafir and Wolves In The Throne Room also add to the diversity of the lineup. A full list of the performing bands can be found below.

And as every year Ragnarök also features some special shows: Latvian riflemen Skyforger will play two sets: their show on Saturday will be the release show of their new album "Kurbads" while their set one day earlier will be entirely acoustic.
Windir heirs Vreid however will bring back some spirit of their legendary legacy and will be joined on stage by Vegard Bakken, brother of the deceased Terje "Valfar" Bakken, to perform as vocalist on a couple of Windir songs.

Another thing that has not changed is the sleeping comfort offered by the festival. Those who want to stay close to nature can still pitch their tents on the free campground while the Gauls among you can avoid the sky falling on your heads by spending the nights in the sleeping hall adjacent to the festival venue for merely 10 ? (i.e. 3.33 ? per night). If you need some more luxuriousness you can also sleep in a bungalow, guesthouse or even the ****-hotel of the nearby Gut Matheshof.

Rieden/Kreuth, the new home of the festival, is located in Eastern Bavaria in vicinity to Nuremberg and Regensburg. You can easily get there by car, train and plane. The next train station is in Amberg which is connected with the festival venue by a bus shuttle. For time-tables visit the site of the Deutsche Bahn.
The nearest international airport is in Nuremberg; bigger international airports with significantly more connections are located in Munich and Frankfurt, from where you can take the train to Amberg. You can also try your luck in the "Mitfahrzentrale" (Carpooling forum) of the official forum to find people to travel with.
For car routes you might want to consult Google Maps.

Tickets can be obtained via the festival's webshop (where you can also buy sleeping hall tickets), Nuclear Blast, Napalm Records, Metaltix and Ticketmaster.

For everything else an expansive FAQ can be found on the festival's website.

Further readings, reviews and galleries:
Ragnarök 2006
Ragnarök 2007
Ragnarök 2008