KulturSommer am Kanal – Events in Ziethen

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.