Name: KulturSommer am Kanal – Events in Ziethen 2026
Start: 2026-06-20T00:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-07-20T00:00:00+00:00
Location: Spielorte entlang des Elbe-Lübeck-Kanals (u.a. Ziethen)

KuSo am Kanal Ziethen

About KuSo am Kanal Ziethen

For a whole month, the Duchy of Lauenburg transforms into an open cultural space. The Stiftung Herzogtum Lauenburg presents KulturSommer am Kanal, one of Northern Germany's largest decentralized festivals: Over 100 events between Mölln, Lauenburg, Ratzeburg, and smaller communities like Ziethen bring music, theatre, literature, art, and children's programs to churches, manor houses, locks, meadows, and village squares. The 21st edition runs from June 20 to July 20, 2026.

Dates 20 Jun — 20 Jul 2026

Venue Ziethen (01053)

Prices —

Status Confirmed

Edition 2026

KuSo am Kanal Ziethen — edition 2026

The 21st edition of KulturSommer am Kanal runs from June 20 to July 20, 2026, with over 100 events in the Duchy of Lauenburg. Ziethen is once again a venue for concerts, musical hikes, and smaller cultural formats. Program booklet available in early May 2026.

From June 20 to July 20, 2026, the 21st edition of KulturSommer am Kanal will take place. The Stiftung Herzogtum Lauenburg organizes over 100 individual events in four weeks at venues throughout the region – from Mölln and Lauenburg to smaller villages like Ziethen.

The complete program will be available in early May 2026 as a travel companion in printed and digital form. Tickets can be booked online via Lübeck-Ticket from then on.

Highlights KuSo am Kanal Ziethen 2026

21st edition, over 100 events, opening ceremony with prominent artists, venues throughout the region including Ziethen.

Programme KuSo am Kanal Ziethen 2026

The detailed daily program for 2026 will be published in early May 2026 by the Stiftung Herzogtum Lauenburg on kultursommer-am-kanal.de and in the printed Reisebegleiter. Structural highlights:

Saturday, June 20, 2026 — Grand opening ceremony (usually with prominent artists, traditionally open-air)
June 21 – July 19, 2026 — Over 100 events spread across four weeks and several dozen venues. Genres: Classical, Jazz, Folk, Lieder, Theatre, Dance, Literature, Art, Children's program, musical hikes.
Ziethen Events — typically one to three dates per summer (concerts in the village church, musical walks), exact details in the program booklet.
Monday, July 20, 2026 — Closing

Current program details available from May 2026 at kultursommer-am-kanal.de/termine.

Prices KuSo am Kanal Ziethen 2026

Individual prices vary by event. Tickets via Lübeck-Ticket (lubeck-ticket.de). Some events are free, especially open-air formats and musical hikes.

Practical information

Practical information — KuSo am Kanal Ziethen

Getting There

By car via the A24 (Hamburg–Berlin), exits Mölln, Ratzeburg, or Büchen, then country roads to the respective venues. By train to Mölln, Ratzeburg, or Büchen, then continue by bus or car.

Tickets

Via Lübeck-Ticket (online and at ticket outlets). Some events are free, others have admission fees depending on the program.

Program Booklet

The printed and digital Reisebegleiter (travel companion) is published in early May and is available from the Stiftung Herzogtum Lauenburg in Mölln.

A Festival Held Together by Water

The Elbe-Lübeck Canal connects the Elbe near Lauenburg with the Trave in Lübeck over 62 kilometers. As early as the Middle Ages, the Alte Salzstraße (Old Salt Road) between Lüneburg and Lübeck shaped the cultural landscape of the present-day Duchy of Lauenburg – salt trade, Hanseatic League, world trade. The KulturSommer am Kanal takes this cultural waterway as its common thread: at over 100 venues – small and large, rural and urban – the Duchy celebrates its cultural diversity for four weeks. The series was initiated in 2006 by the Stiftung Herzogtum Lauenburg (Lauenburg Duchy Foundation), based in Mölln.

Ziethen as a Venue

The small community of Ziethen (around 1,300 inhabitants, located in the southern part of the Duchy of Lauenburg) has been a regular venue for the festival for years. Concerts in the village church, musical hikes through the surrounding landscape, readings in courtyards and barns, occasionally an open-air theatre or dance performance – Ziethen provides the rural idyll that the KulturSommer concept thrives on. The exact number and type of events in Ziethen vary from year to year.

The Program: 100+ Events

The spectrum ranges from classical music in monastery walls to jazz in a beach club, from literary readings in libraries to children's theatre on the meadow, from art exhibitions in manor houses to yoga on the riverbank. Artists from Northern Germany and Europe fill the program, alongside clubs, choirs, and acting groups from the region. The opening ceremony traditionally takes place as a large open-air concert with prominent artists.

Behind the Scenes

The Stiftung Herzogtum Lauenburg curates and produces the festival. The premium partner is the Kreissparkasse Herzogtum Lauenburg (District Savings Bank of Lauenburg Duchy), and the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Education also supports the series. Tickets are sold through Lübeck-Ticket, and the complete program booklet is published in early May – both in print and as a digital travel companion.

A Region Reinventing Itself

KulturSommer am Kanal has put the Duchy of Lauenburg on the cultural map. What began as an attempt to bring the rural hinterland of Lübeck out of the shadow of the big city has become one of the most visited decentralized festivals in the North. Anyone planning a "farmer-in-the-castle" summer in the North will find a choice of events here for four weeks – often several events per day.