Name: Crane Week 2026
Start: 2026-09-20T00:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-09-27T00:00:00+00:00
Location: Stralsund und Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft

Crane Week

About Crane Week

Crane Week celebrates one of North Germany's most impressive natural spectacles: the autumn crane migration in the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft around Stralsund. When cranes from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe gather with local birds in the region, the festival programme invites you to join excursions, multimedia presentations, and lectures. The "lucky birds" are the focus of a week that combines nature experience and knowledge transfer.

Dates 20 Sep — 27 Sep 2026

Venue Stralsund (13073)

Prices —

Status Confirmed

Edition 2026

Crane Week — edition 2026

Crane Week 2026 will take place from 20 to 27 September. Around the autumn crane migration in the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft, the festival programme invites you to excursions, multimedia presentations, and lectures about the lucky birds. The current programme is available via the Crane Information Centre (kraniche.de).

From 20 to 27 September 2026, Crane Week invites you to witness one of North Germany's most impressive natural spectacles. In the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft around Stralsund, thousands of cranes gather in autumn. The festival programme offers guided excursions, multimedia presentations, and lectures about the migration of the lucky birds. The current programme can be accessed via the Crane Information Centre (kraniche.de).

Highlights Crane Week 2026

Thousands of cranes in the Bodden landscape
Guided excursions with experts
Nature experience and knowledge transfer

Programme Crane Week 2026

Programme

Guided excursions to gathering and roosting places
Multimedia presentations about bird migration
Lectures by experts
Observation opportunities at sunrise and sunset

Prices Crane Week 2026

Individual excursions and offers may be subject to a fee; details available from the Crane Information Centre.

Practical information

Practical information — Crane Week

Getting There

Stralsund is accessible by train (main station) and via the A20 motorway. Excursion destinations are located in the surrounding Bodden landscape.

Participation

Programme and registration for excursions via the Crane Information Centre (kraniche.de).

Tip

Warm clothing and binoculars are recommended for observation; the most beautiful moments are at dawn and dusk.

The Crane Migration on the Baltic Sea

Every autumn, the region around Stralsund experiences one of Central Europe's greatest natural spectacles: the migration of cranes. As early as August, local birds begin to gather in the fields of the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft. In September, conspecifics from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe join them, so that thousands of cranes gather in the region before continuing their journey south.

Festival Programme Around the Lucky Birds

Crane Week bundles this natural experience into a festival programme. It invites nature lovers to consciously experience the crane migration and learn more about the "lucky birds":

guided excursions to roosting and gathering places
multimedia presentations about bird migration
lectures by experts
observation opportunities at sunrise and sunset

Nature Reserve Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft

The Bodden landscape between Stralsund, Rügen, and the mainland is one of the most important resting places for cranes in Central Europe. Shallow waters, reed belts, and wide fields offer the birds ideal conditions. Crane Week makes this natural area and its inhabitants tangible.

Stralsund in the District of Vorpommern-Rügen

The Hanseatic city of Stralsund is the district town in Vorpommern-Rügen and a good starting point for crane observation. Crane Week combines the natural spectacle with an attractive autumn stay in the region.