Pellworm Orgelsommer — Summer Concerts on the Arp Schnitger Organ

A Schnitger Organ in the Wadden Sea

The Arp Schnitger Organ in the Old Church of St. Salvator on Pellworm is one of the outstanding instruments of North German organ building. Built around 1711 by the famous Hamburg organ builder Arp Schnitger — whose works are also preserved in Hamburg, Stade, Cappel, and Norden — it forms the sonic center of the island. The fact that this organ has survived at all is due to luck and care: Pellworm lies in the middle of the Wadden Sea; storm surges and salt air have been its adversaries for centuries.

Concert Series from June to September

From June to September, the Old Church of St. Salvator transforms into a concert hall every Wednesday at 8 PM. The concerts take place by candlelight — a deliberate atmospheric choice that connects the historic instrument with an almost meditative mood. The organists come from all over Europe: Germany, Poland, Japan, Russia, Sweden — the list of guest performers represents an international spectrum of the leading institutions in organ music.

Children's Concerts and Guided Tours

• Wednesday 3 PM — Children's concert (same day as the evening concert), short explanatory focus, child-friendly program
• Wednesday 8 PM — Main concert by candlelight
• Thursday 3 PM–4:15 PM — Organ tours by KMD Matthias Hoffmann-Borggrefe, Church Music Director

The Organists 2026 (Selection)

The 2026 program includes, among others, Kent Pegler-von Thun (opening on June 24), Eva Schad, Haruka Kinoshita, Fernando Swiech in July, in midsummer Andreas Meisner, Birgit Wildemann, Heinz-Peter Kortmann, and in August and September Elizaveta Souslova, Reiner Schulte, and Isolde Kittel-Zerer.

On Pellworm in the North Frisia District

Pellworm is one of the North Frisian islands in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Wadden Sea, reachable by ferry from Nordstrand. With approx. 1,100 inhabitants on 37 km², Pellworm is one of the quietest islands in the German Wadden Sea — and it is precisely this tranquility that makes the Orgelsommer a unique experience: listening to concerts of sound after sunset, while sheep bleat outside and the Wadden Sea lies in the moonlight, is something you won't find anywhere else in Schleswig-Holstein.