Bagno Sound Garden

The Bagno Park in Steinfurt

The Bagno Park in Steinfurt is one of Westphalia's most significant baroque landscape parks. Laid out in the 18th century by Count Karl Paul Ernst zu Bentheim-Steinfurt as his private "Italian Garden," it features a palace, artificial rocks, water features, pavilions, and a concert gallery – an oval concert hall with a copper exterior and extraordinary acoustics. Today, the park is publicly accessible, the concert gallery is used as a venue, and once a year, the entire park transforms into the festival grounds of the Bagno Sound Garden.

The Concept: Trail Instead of Stage

Unlike a classic festival with a fixed stage, the Bagno Sound Garden utilizes a 1.4-kilometer trail through the park. Along the route from the palace to the concert gallery, approximately 25 performance locations are spread out – paths, clearings, pavilions, water edges, hidden spots in the woods. Those who walk the trail encounter a different performance every few steps: classical musicians in a clearing, theatre groups with short scenes, circus artists on a pavilion, poetry slam texts under a tree, electronic sound art in a pavilion. Three hours, 25 stations – that's the concept.

Free Admission, Artist Applications Open

The festival is completely free for the public. Visitors can walk the trail for as long as they wish – most visitors spend the full three hours in the park. For artists, applications open annually: musicians, performance artists, and slam poets from the region and beyond apply for one of the 25 stations.

Marcus Hues as Curator

The festival is based on a partnership: the City of Steinfurt as the organizer and the artist and cultural creator Marcus Hues as the curator. The festival was founded in 2014 and has established itself as a permanent institution in the Münsterland region over the years. The 10th edition in 2026 marks the anniversary.

Concert Gallery as the Main Venue

The Bagno Concert Gallery is an architectural gem: an oval concert hall, appearing from the outside like a giant copper mushroom, with exceptional acoustics inside. It hosts the largest concerts of the trail – usually a main classical concert in the late afternoon.

Steinfurt and the Western Münsterland

Steinfurt is located in the Steinfurt district, northwest of Münster, at the transition from the flat Münsterland to the hilly Tecklenburger Land. Visitors coming for the Bagno Sound Garden can also visit the Steinfurt Water Castle (located in the Bagno park!), Burg Bentheim (40 min north), Münster (30 min southeast), or the Teutoburger Wald (45 min southeast).