SHMF Concert — St. Laurentiuskirche Tönning

Tönning — Port town at the mouth of the Eider

Tönning is a small town of around 5,000 inhabitants in the district of Nordfriesland in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is located at the mouth of the Eider river into the North Sea and has been a port and market town since the 16th century. With its historic market square, the baroque warehouse, and the magnificent St. Laurentiuskirche, Tönning is one of the most beautiful small towns on the west coast.

St. Laurentiuskirche — one of the most important churches on the west coast

The St. Laurentiuskirche is the most important church on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein. The brick town church was first built around 1186, with the current structure expanded in the baroque style. Two special features characterize the interior:

• Ceiling fresco from 1704 — one of the largest surviving baroque ceiling paintings in Northern Germany
• Two organs — choir organ with casing from 1739 (8 stops), main organ with 41 stops (1978, Hinrich Otto Paschen)

This combination of size, acoustics, and baroque imagery makes the space an ideal concert hall — one reason why the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival regularly includes the church in its program.

The SHMF — Northern Germany's Classical Music Festival

The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (SHMF) was founded in 1986 by pianist Justus Frantz and Leonard Bernstein and is now the largest classical music festival in the country. Over approximately eight weeks — from July 4th to August 30th, 2026 — between 150 and 200 concerts take place at venues throughout Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Denmark, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The focus is on classical symphonic music, chamber music, song and choral programs, as well as crossover projects.