Ostholsteiner Schafmarkt

A Museum Farm That Becomes a Sheep Village

The Museumshof Lensahn is one of Schleswig-Holstein's most beautiful open-air museum complexes – an authentically preserved farm with a residential house, barns, stables, and an impressive collection of historical agricultural machinery and everyday objects in the Ostholstein district. Once a year in May, the grounds transform into a small sheep breeding fair and experience meadow centered around the woolly utility animal: the Ostholsteiner Schafmarkt.

What a Sheep Market Offers

The program is packed and interesting for families as well as for wool processors. The highlights include:

• Various Sheep Breeds – Heath sheep, Texel, Suffolk, Skudden, Soay – presented by the Schleswig-Holstein Sheep Breeders' Association
• Sheep Shearing – a shearer demonstrates professional shearing to the public
• Sheepdog Demonstrations – Border Collies herd sheep before the eyes of visitors
• Live Spinning – under the motto From Sheep to Designer Yarn, spinners demonstrate their craft
• Wool Market – sale of rare and colorfully diverse wool types and yarns
• Sheep Specialties – lamb sausage, sheep cheese, lamb skewers, and other culinary delights from regional producers
• Petting Lambs – arguably the most popular activity for children

A Tradition with Generational Change

The event serves not only as a market: it is also an important platform for the preservation of regional sheep breeds and for knowledge transfer to the next generation. The sheep breeders' association uses the day for information and recruitment of young talent, wool processors expand their networks, and children experience firsthand where wool and lamb meat come from.

Lensahn, the Hinterland of Ostholstein

Lensahn is located in southeastern Ostholstein, about ten kilometers from the Baltic Sea coast (Grömitz, Neustadt) and within reach of the Holstein Switzerland region with its lakes. Visitors to the Sheep Market can combine their day with a beach visit on the Baltic Sea or a walk in the Holstein Switzerland Nature Park.