Around Munich where I live, it was extremely dry this summer and the lawn turned completely brown in parts, even though I watered it regularly. Now in August we're finally getting a few rainy days, and I'm wondering if I can still save the lawn or if I'll have to reseed it completely in the fall.
Your lawn is tougher than you might think - you probably won't need to completely restore it. Now with the rainy days and cooler temperatures in autumn, your lawn will naturally bounce back on its own, especially if those brown patches are just dried out and not actually dead. Don't go for reseeding now; instead, give your lawn two to three weeks to recover.
In the meantime, you can help it along with simple methods: mow the lawn short (but not too short, around 3-4 cm) so the new shoots can come through better. After that, dethatch or rake thoroughly - that brings light and air to the grass roots and removes dead material. If larger bare patches still show up over the next few weeks, you can reseed those spots locally, best done in September. Completely reseeding is expensive and unnecessary if only parts of your lawn have suffered.
A lawn fertilizer application now in late summer helps too - use an autumn fertilizer, it's specifically made for this time of year and strengthens your lawn for winter. With a bit of patience and finally having enough rainfall again, your lawn should look decent by October.
The lawn often recovers surprisingly quickly once it gets regular water again - give it a couple more weeks before you decide on complete reseeding. September is actually a good time for overseeding though, you could just patch up the bare spots instead of redoing everything from scratch. Before that I'd dethatch or rake the area so the new seeds have better contact with the soil. And then just remember: water regularly but not too much, otherwise the lawn gets too wet for fall and spring.
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