Shanty Festival Travemünde

Maritime Music in 150 Variations

Every first weekend in July, the Port of Travemünde transforms into an open stage for maritime music. The Shanty Festival is Germany's largest of its kind and attracts an international audience to Lübeck-Travemünde. Over three days, more than 35 international shanty choirs will present around 150 concerts on five stages along the Trave — an almost non-stop programme from morning to evening.

The Shanty Mile

The venue is the Shanty Mile: a continuous festival promenade along the Trave from the beach station to the harbour entrance. The five stages are spread along this route — Stage 1 near the harbour, others along the promenade. The choirs rotate between the stages, allowing the audience to experience new singers for hours by moving from stage to stage.

The Mass Choir — over 1,850 Singers

The highlight of the festival is the Mass Choir on Saturday afternoon: Over 1,850 shanty singers from all participating choirs will stand together on the main promenade and sing two shanty songs in unison — as the world's largest shanty choir. An acoustic and visual moment that goes far beyond the usual festival format.

Opening and Sailors' Service

• Opening on Friday evening — musically supported by the Lübeck Shanty Choir Möwenschiet, one of Germany's most renowned shanty choirs
• Sailors' Service on Sunday morning — on Stage 1, also accompanied by Möwenschiet — a maritime sacred tradition of Travemünde

What is Shanty Music?

Shanties are work songs of sailors from the 19th century — structured with rhythmic verses, a catchy chorus, sung in a call-and-response format. Today, they are maintained worldwide by choirs with a maritime connection — many singers are active or retired sailors. Travemünde, with its harbour and seafaring tradition, is a natural location for this.

Travemünde — District of Lübeck

Travemünde is a district of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck in the Lübeck district (independent city) in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. With its historic harbour, the white beach promenade, the iconic Passat (four-masted barque) on the shore, and its direct access to the Baltic Sea, Travemünde is one of Germany's most distinctive port towns. The Shanty Festival utilizes this maritime identity in a textbook manner.