In October and November 2025, as well as in March and April 2026, mountain fans and adventure enthusiasts can see Messner live on stage in numerous cities.
Messner live: Five programs, one legend
The tour includes five different programs that cover various aspects of Messner's life and his experiences in the mountains. The professional mountaineer recounts not only his summit successes but also the challenges such adventures bring.
Uber Leben
In this new lecture he outlines his journey from a South Tyrolean mountain boy to one of the greatest adventurers of our time.
With his uncompromising ascents of the world's highest mountains, he achieved what was considered unattainable at the time. He pushed the boundaries of possibility and thus became the most famous mountaineer of our time. On those expeditions, he experienced how survival works. As a border crosser and with this experience, he also marked the other milestones of his life: as a desert adventurer, as a politician and mountain farmer, as the founder of a unique museum landscape, and as a family man and father of four. With powerful words and images, he looks back on seven decades marked by early encounters with death and extreme experiences in nature. Reinhold Messner, whose curiosity remains unquenchable, speaks candidly about the essence of his life and wrestles with concepts such as courage, passion, and responsibility. He speaks about ambition and shame, nightmares and the inevitable aging, about new beginnings and the ability to let go in the end.
Tour dates »About Life«:
October 31, 2025: City Hall, Rheine
Start: 20:00 p.m.
November 01, 2025: Die Glocke, Bremen
Start: 20:00 p.m.
November 02, 2025: Pipe Master's Office, Schwerte
Start: 18:00 p.m.
November 28, 2025: Theater im Tanzbrunnen, Cologne
Start: 20:00 p.m.
November 30, 2025: Historic City Hall, Wuppertal
Start: 19:00 p.m.
March 04, 2026: Congress Center, Würzburg
Start: 20:00 p.m.
March 05, 2026: Kurhaus, Baden Baden
Start: 20:00 p.m.
March 07, 2026: Kurhaus, Wiesbaden
Start: 20:00 p.m.
April 08, 2026: Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg
Start: 20:00 p.m.
Nanga Parbat – My Mountain of Destiny
Hardly any other mountain combines fame and tragedy as closely as the 8.125-meter-high Nanga Parbat. Reinhold Messner combines both like no other.
In his live presentation, accompanied by never-before-seen images and films, Messner's story spans the entire spectrum, from the alpinists who made history on Nanga Parbat to his own moving and thrilling story. He tells of Albert Mummery, the best mountaineer of his time, who disappeared in 1895 while crossing from the Diamir to the Rakhiot face; of the unforgettable Willo Welzenbach, nicknamed the "Ice Pope," who died in 1934 in a snowstorm with eight men, ultimately excluded; of Hermann Buhl, who in 1953, against the orders of the expedition leader, was the first to reach the summit alone – a golden moment in alpinism! Just like 50 years later, when Steve House climbed the Rupal face directly in a two-man rope team. Finally, he recounts his own fateful expedition of 1970, during which his brother Günther tragically lost his life. Eight years later, he achieved the pinnacle of his life with the first solo ascent of an eight-thousander on the Diamir Wall. After the hell of it, he touched heaven on his personal mountain of destiny.
Tour dates »Nanga Parbat – My Mountain of Destiny«:
November 29, 2025: Erwin Piscator House, Marburg
Start: 20:00 p.m.
March 15, 2026: Ebertbad, Oberhausen
Start: 14:00 p.m.
April 10, 2026: City Hall, Göttingen
Start: 20:00 p.m.
Living on the edge
Who has pushed themselves to the limit as often as Reinhold Messner? On the rocks, on the eight-thousanders, and in the icy deserts of this earth? This adventurer is also a political figure, museum founder, and mountain farmer. In his lecture, he recounts his youth in the Dolomites, the Himalayas, the Gobi Desert, and Greenland, as well as his commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. Reinhold Messner sees himself today as a representative of all those who had neither the time nor the means to realize their dreams as adventurers. He wants to share his experiences from the last wilderness areas on earth and awaken empathy for the people living in the world's mountains. His stories of near-death experiences and failure in the death zone, along with many headwinds, are both gripping and profound.
Tour dates »Life on the Limit«:
March 04, 2026: Congress Center, Würzburg
Start: 20:00 p.m.
March 08, 2026: Harmonie Concert and Congress Center, Heilbronn
Start: 18:00 p.m.
March 12, 2026: City Hall, Gütersloh
Start: 20:00 p.m.
March 14, 2026: City Hall, Hagen
Start: 20:00 p.m.
April 09, 2026: Theater am Aegi, Hanover
Start: 20:00 p.m.
April 11, 2026: Steintor Variete, Halle
Start: 19:00 p.m.
Symbols (+ Diane Messner)
The joint book “Sinnbilder” serves as the basis for many of the Messners’ lectures.
Tour date »Symbols«:
March 15, 2026: Ebertbad, Oberhausen
Start: 19:00 p.m.
World mountains – the 4th dimension
Mountains where history was made: "World Mountains – the 4th Dimension" is Reinhold Messner's latest and most visually stunning lecture. He presents thirteen selected world mountains in a previously unknown way. Digital images were created at the German Aerospace Center based on satellite images. From these images, scientists, whose images Messner presents exclusively here, created three-dimensional, photorealistic images. This made "virtual" representations possible from previously unimaginable perspectives and with previously unattainable accuracy. The viewer thus becomes a participant in historic expeditions and, at the same time, a witness to new, upcoming mountaineering challenges. Because never before has it been possible
Retracing or planning climbing routes on the mountain with such precision. With his impressive knowledge and experience from his expeditions, Reinhold Messner brings the technically brilliant images to life. In his presentation, mountaineering accounts are combined with the latest satellite-based visualization technology, knowledge of climbing history, and photographic expertise to create a complete picture.
Tour dates »World Mountains – the 4th Dimension«:
March 06, 2026: City Hall, Offenbach
Start: 20:00 p.m.
March 11, 2026: Seidenweberhaus, Krefeld
Start: 20:00 p.m.
You might be interested in:
- Messner's rope teams | An interview with Reinhold Messner
- Save the Mountains: An Appeal by Reinhold Messner
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Credits: Texts for the lectures: Press release; Cover photo: Ronny Kiaulehn