Sand Sculpture Travemünde

Large-Format Sand Art

Sand sculptures are a transient medium — but the Travemünde exhibition has proven for years how enduring they can be. Every spring, a completely new exhibition is created in the former boat halls at Baggersand, open daily for eight months. Musea GmbH has organized the show as an annual tradition since 2019, each with a new theme. In 2026, everything is under the motto "Time Travel in Sand".

25 Artists, 16 Nations, 104 Sculptures

For each new edition, Musea GmbH invites 25 international sand artists from 16 nations, who work on-site for several weeks before the exhibition opens. They use over 10,000 m³ of special sand (fine-grained, with a higher clay content than ordinary beach sand, for better stability) and shape 104 monumental sculptures on 3,500 m². Some sculptures are up to five meters high — the scale is one of the hallmarks of the Travemünde exhibition.

Theme 2026: Time Travel in Sand

The 8th edition leads through 1,000 years of history:

• Prehistory and Neanderthals — Beginnings of humanity
• Antiquity and Middle Ages — Charlemagne, Hanseatic League, knights and castles
• Myths and Fairy Tales — Rübezahl, legends, folk tales
• Children's Dreams and Literature — Jim Button, children's book classics
• Modern History — References to more recent decades

Indoor and Weather-Independent

Unlike other sand sculpture festivals (The Hague, St. Petersburg), the Travemünde exhibition takes place in covered halls — making it independent of weather and season. This makes it an all-season magnet for families and senior groups, especially a highlight of an Baltic Sea holiday on rainy days.

Travemünde and Lübeck as Location

Travemünde is a district of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck (independent city, state of Schleswig-Holstein) and Germany's most famous Baltic Sea resort. The sand sculpture hall is located in the fishing harbor at Baggersand, a five-minute walk from the beach promenade — the visit can be perfectly combined with a day trip to the Baltic Sea.