The command “Im Doubliertritt, Marsch!” (“In double step – march!”) traditionally opens the world’s longest procession of marksmen, a highlight of this festival celebrated since 1529. On the first Sunday, around 10,000 members of marksmen, folklore, and carnival groups march through the Old Town. Over ten days, the world’s largest marksmen festival offers thrilling rides, lively marquees, Bruchmeister (ceremonial stewards), shooting skills, and Hannover’s iconic Lüttje Lage – beer and a shot, served separately but drunk together!
A chance to experience that holiday feeling and maritime flair in the middle of town! Over 19 days, visitors to Niedersachsen’s largest local festival can take a culinary and artistic trip around the world. Year after year, international cuisine, free concerts, water sports activities, open-air dance evenings and an exciting programme for children guarantee a non-stop holiday feeling for everyone.
Electro and jazz, acrobatics and concerts. Between the large tents and small stalls, Bremen comes together for a colourful and airy spectacle at the Weserwiesen, with over 100 bands playing and the attractive culinary offerings from regional organic producers in the eco-village on the Weser growing in popularity from year to year.
The most beautiful sailing regatta in the world takes place every year at the end of July in the Bay of Lübeck off Travemünde. Hundreds of thousands of visitors travel here to experience the unique combination of top-level international sailing sport and a maritime festival mile. Cocktails and wine bars, dancing on the beach until midnight and live music from numerous stages in front of the arriving and departing ferries.
Every two years the HanseKulturFestival takes place in one of the districts of Lübeck’s old town. Strolling through the lovingly decorated streets of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, you can enjoy music and regional food and find hidden treasures in the green residential streets and monastery courtyards. Many residents of the old town open up their gardens and living rooms and invite you to a typical North German coffee klatch.
Kiel Week is the biggest sailing event in the world! For 10 days, the city of Kiel is in a state of emergency. Sailing regattas, culinary specialities from all over the world, concerts, parties, arts and crafts and acrobatics, a colourful children’s programme and much more make a visit to this unique event unforgettable!
Every year, the festival transforms numerous locations in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg into a large classical music concert stage. Well over a hundred thousand fans attend the concerts in castles, manor houses, barns and shipyard halls or airport terminals. Every year, the festival is dedicated to a different theme or composer and thus always offers new highlights. The concerts in the manor houses and castles are particularly popular, with picnics in the sunshine beforehand.
JazzBaltica is one of the most renowned jazz festivals in the world. Every year in June, world-famous jazz musicians and up-and-coming talent perform and offer an unforgettable experience. Thousands of listeners flock to Timmendorfer Strand every year to enjoy the concerts by the sea, which are organised by Swedish trombonist and singer Nils Landgren as artistic director.
On five dates each year, the world’s best pyrotechnicians enchant the evening sky above the impressive backdrop of the Herrenhausen Gardens. There is also a supporting programme at many locations in the Great Garden: from theatre and cabaret to folklore and colourful entertainment for young and old. The fireworks displays by renowned pyrotechnic artists are accompanied by music and judged by an independent panel of experts.
The Hanse Sail Rostock is one of the world’s largest gatherings of traditional sailing ships and museum ships. The maritime festival has been held every year on the second weekend in August since 1991. Around 250 participating ships, together with cruise ships, ferries and naval vessels, offer a lively maritime world exhibition. The event attracts around one million visitors every year.
Opera under the stars in one of the most beautiful squares in northern Germany – this has long since become the hallmark of the Schlossfestspiele Schwerin. What began as an insider tip among opera lovers in the castle courtyard has now developed into an internationally renowned festival that attracts numerous visitors every year in June and July.
With inspiring free photo shows, XXL open-air installations, workshops and multimedia shows, the programme offers a broad spectrum of photography at an international level. The evening flood of images and bird of prey shows are also part of the diverse programme for the festival week. The photo market on the second weekend of the festival is an attractive venue, modern marketplace and creative playground.
It is the vastness of the sea, coupled with a visit to places of longing around the world, that fascinates cruise fans and dream ship newcomers alike: during the Hamburg Cruise Days, the ocean liners transform the port of Hamburg into a spectacular maritime promenade for a weekend. Innovation and environmental protection are major and important topics for which the event is also intended to be a source of inspiration and a platform for dialogue. The harbour is the impressive runway for the world’s most beautiful cruise liners.
