Culture for people from Schleswig-Holstein or for tourists – whatever your tastes and preferences may be, you will always find a suitable offer here in the Land between the seas. Culture, architecture and landscape are in perfect harmony in many parts of this Land.
Schleswig-Holstein inspires filmmakers. Numerous well-known TV series and films were shot in the past or are currently being filmed in the northernmost federal state.
The state-run film promotion organization Filmförderung Hamburg / Schleswig-Holstein (FFHSH) supports cinema films and exceptional TV productions of all genres. The decision to subsidize a movie is based on the following criteria: content quality and extensive reference to Schleswig-Holstein or Hamburg.
Various events and seminars on industry-related topics, such as film funding, movies and the law, or digitization, are part of the services offered by the Filmförderung Hamburg / Schleswig-Holstein as guidance and direct support for producers and filmmakers. FFHSH also boasts a broad international network and it awards the coveted North German Film Prize.
Four memorials in Schleswig-Holstein, which are located in Ladelund, Husum-Schwesing, Ahrensbök and Kaltenkirchen, commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime.
The exhibits, documentations and lectures presented at these memorials shed light on the measures of persecution and annihilation taken by the Nazis. As places of collective, cultural memory, these memorial sites serve as venues for mediation and reconciliation work for survivors as well as for relatives and descendents of victims of Nazi persecution. At the same time, they are also directed towards the following generations. The memorials also function as information centers which help and support society in being vigilant and courageous about any tendencies that might be a threat to democracy.
Schleswig-Holstein has a vibrant literary scene and a rich literary heritage.
The Schleswig-Holstein House of Literature represents a network of contemporary literary life in the state. The House of Literature organizes literary events of its own and acts as a publisher. In so doing, special focus is placed on new German-language literature and writing from the Baltic States. Moreover, the House of Literature works across the Land, coordinating literary events, such as the European Festival of the Debut Novel and the so-called Literary Summer.
The literary heritage of Schleswig-Holstein
Five writers’ museums are dedicated to preserving and promoting the literary heritage of Schleswig-Holstein by offering a rich program of events, exhibitions and academic conferences. Among them are the Buddenbrookhaus and the Heinrich-and-Thomas-Mann-Center in Lübeck, the Ernst-Barlach-Museums in Ratzeburg and Wedel, the Klaus-Groth-Museum in Heide, the Hebbel-Museum in Wesselburen and the Storm-Haus, home of the author Theodor Storm. The Günter-Grass-Haus in Lübeck primarily focuses on the author as an artist and sculptor.
Schleswig-Holstein’s theater landscape is exceptionally diverse.
Schleswig-Holstein’s theater landscape is exceptionally diverse. All across the Land, there are small and large theaters, theater companies staging Low German plays, puppet and model theaters as well as improvisational theater and amateur troupes.
Every summer, the Eutin Festival presents famous operas on the open-air stage right on the banks of Eutin’s picturesque lake. Toy theaters also organize festivals in Schleswig-Holstein. Many visitors flock to the Pole Poppenspäler Theater Days in Husum, the Toy Theater Meet in Preetz and the Puppet and Model Theater Days in Kappeln.
Schleswig-Holstein boasts some 250 museums which form a widespread network extending from Flensburg on the Danish border to Lauenburg on the Elbe River and from Keitum on the Island of Sylt to the city of Burg on the Island of Fehmarn. The number and density of museums in the state underscore Schleswig-Holstein’s long-standing tradition as a highly developed, distinctive cultural landscape.
Museums can be found everywhere in the most beautiful surroundings of Schleswig-Holstein, such as the Nolde Museum in Seebüll, the Jewish Museum in the historic old part of the town of Rendsburg, the Museumsberg in Flensburg or the Heikendorf Art Museum, the Wenzel Hablik Museum in Itzehoe or the North Frisian Museum in Husum.
Schleswig-Holstein’s State Museum at Gottorf Castle in Schleswig impresses with its rich art collections and the reconstruction of a walk-in globe dating back to the 17th century and located in the baroque gardens. The Kiel Art Hall, attractively located near the waterfront of Kiel Fjord, displays its 150-year-old collection and also hosts exhibitions of internationally renowned artists.
Northern and Central Europe have been meeting in Schleswig-Holstein for thousands of years: the Viking Museum in Haithabu, well known for its archaeological open-air exhibition area and the Molfsee Open-Air Museum convey a vivid impression of life and of commercial practice in the last centuries in Schleswig-Holstein.
Kiel Week, held every year in June, is both the largest sailing regatta in the world and the biggest summer festival in Northern Europe. Kiel Week attracts almost 6,000 competitors and more than three million visitors, who enjoy more than a thousand different events organized in Schleswig-Holstein's capital.
Schleswig-Holstein is also well known for the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the largest classical music festival in Europe. But you will find small and large music festivals everywhere in Schleswig-Holstein, particularly in the summertime. There is a festival for almost every taste: classical music, jazz, operetta and modern contemporary music. There even is a festival, which maybe is not as famous as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, but still is the biggest of its kind in the world: the Heavy-Metal Festival "Wacken Open Air".
